Because You Want To
by MysticalGoddessOfWords
Summary: She's his whole world... but will he ever learn how to show her without it blowing up in his face? This is a story about how a split second decision can change everything. Takes place after episode 03x04.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion much to my chagrin. No infringement intended – I'm just having a little fun with the characte** rs.

So I don't like long author's notes but I have a few things I need to say.

I never thought I'd have two "Walter & Happy are married" stories going at the same time but it just happened. I know I'm in the middle of _Married_ but this idea kept me up for two nights until I sat down and typed it out. It's a little different process for me. I usually have 80% or so of a story written before I post even the first chapter. I only have this one chapter finished for this story although I have it completely outlined from beginning to end - so I know exactly where I'm going and how I'm getting there. So I'm going to post as I write the chapters. The story won't be long – maybe a half a dozen chapters or so and will take place over five years. We'll see how it goes. Updates may be a little slow on this one too but I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.

I was very bothered by the ending of the last episode because while I obviously suspected Walter was going to be Happy's hubby – something didn't sit right with me about Happy's explanation of how things went down and I'm not sure where the writers are going to take it. So I decided to take it where I want it to go.

I am no expert on immigration law and regulations but I have tried to be as thorough as possible in my research and I have researched quite a bit. There is a chance that some things are not 100% accurate but I'm taking the creative license necessary to make the story work.

The story starts about a month after the end of episode 03x04. Yes there will be smut... lots of it.

Thanks in advance for reading and enjoy!

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 **Because You Want To - Chapter 1  
**

"Your N-400 Application for Naturalization has been denied."

Walter felt like someone punched him in the gut as he looked at his immigration lawyer, James Tedreau, sitting across from him. After all this time, the years of being married to a woman he didn't love, risking his life, and his teams, to assist the US government to keep the country safe from worldwide threats, and he was now going to be denied US citizenship.

"Why the hell was it denied?" Happy snapped from beside him as she slapped the hand Toby wasn't holding down on the table.

Walter sat stunned and silent, wracking his 5th highest IQ brain for a logical solution. As much as he didn't want to leave the country, as much as he didn't want to have to shutter Scorpion, all he could think about at that moment was that he was going to lose Paige and Ralph. And the thought paralyzed him.

"Happy, calm down," the woman in question murmured from her spot standing behind the two of them. Sly stood beside her wringing his hand anxiously while Cabe was a short distance away leaning against Proton Arnold.

"No, this is bullshit!" Happy snapped again and glared at the slightly paunch and balding man across from them. "I thought you're supposed to be the top immigration lawyer in LA."

"I am, Mrs. O'Brien," he replied calmly, clearly long used to the emotional outbursts of couples who were thrown into chaos by divorce before one of them were naturalized.

A low growl reverberated up Happy's throat. "My name is _not_ Mrs. O'Brien. My name is Happy Quinn so call me Happy or Ms. Quinn or I will-"

"Or future Mrs. Curtis," Toby interrupted from his seat beside her but Happy smacked his arm.

"Shut it Doc," she growled.

Tedreau looked back at Walter. "Unfortunately your immigration case worker believes your marriage was fraudulent and not in good faith. That determination automatically cancels your application and initiates deportation proceedings."

"There's no basis for that determination," Happy scoffed angrily.

"Apparently the answers you gave in your separate interviews cast some doubts on the validity of the marriage from its inception."

"What answers?" Paige asked calmly even though she was feeling anything but.

Tedreau looked up at her as he answered. "The interview answers are confidential and can only be released with a petition to the immigration court."

"This is bullshit!" Happy said again.

"There has to be something that can be done," Paige said with a shaky breath. This couldn't be happening. "Cabe? Can't Homeland do anything?"

The agent shook his head with a frown. "Unfortunately not this time. Homeland has to step back on this because of Scorpion's position in the agency."

"But that's exactly why they should be involved," Paige insisted.

"Yeah, Walter is a high value government asset," Sly said as he gripped Paige's arm. Whenever his anxiety went into overdrive, he always reached out, needing some kind of human contact to keep him grounded.

"Only as long as I'm legal," Walter muttered his first words since his life came crashing down around him.

"Unless this can be resolved toot sweet Homeland is cancelling Scorpion's contract effective immediately."

"Oh, god," Paige said in a strangled tone.

At the pained and clearly worried sound Walter turned in his seat and looked at her. Paige sucked in a breath in response to the intensity of his gaze.

"You and Ralph will always be taken care of," he said with such conviction it silenced the entire room.

"Walter, that's not what I-" she started to say and he just shook his head.

He wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from all of this. But he couldn't even protect himself from the fallout at this point.

"I know," he murmured. "But I've made arrangements. You and Ralph will be fine after Scorpion. I promise."

Walter turned back around, unable to look at her any longer. It hurt too much.

He'd made arrangements for Paige and Ralph a long time ago in case something happened to him. Their lives were too fraught with danger and the risk of death, on a daily basis, that Walter wanted to make sure the two most important people in his world would be taken care of if he wasn't there any longer.

Who would have figured that it would be the USCIS, and not a terrorist, that would rip him from their lives?

And in that moment, Walter decided he wouldn't allow it.

"There has to be a logical solution here, Mr. Tedreau. Are you saying I am completely out of options?" Walter asked seriously as he pursed his lips.

Paige felt a hand on her lower back and, still stunned by Walter's words, she turned her head to see Tim standing next to her.

"Any resolution yet?" he whispered and Paige shook her head before she quietly led him toward the kitchen.

"Is everything alright?" she asked when they were out of earshot of everyone else. When the lawyer arrived she asked Tim to keep Ralph occupied on the other side of the garage. Her son was aware of what was going on and she knew the thought of Walter being deported scared him more than he let on.

But Ralph and Tim had been struggling lately. He was clearly not happy about her dating the former seal and he was acting out.

"Where's Ralph?" she asked as she looked toward the Airstream.

"He wasn't interested in hanging with me. He said he had homework to do and took his laptop up to the loft."

Paige sighed. "I'm sorry, Tim. I'll talk to him again."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Tim rubbed her arm gently as he smiled. "We'll find our balance. There's a lot going on right now and when it calms down I'm sure we'll figure it out." Tim motioned with his head toward the table of geniuses on the other side of the room. "Is this lawyer going to be able to help Walter?"

Paige's brow furrowed and she bit her bottom lip worriedly. "It doesn't sound like it. But I need to get back over there."

Tim nodded and followed as she turned and walked back toward the table.

"That is ludicrous," Walter said as Paige walked up again stopping a few feet behind his chair.

"I'm afraid the laws are quite strict on these matters, Mr. O'Brien. USCIS takes fraud very seriously."

"I told you it wasn't fraud," Walter insisted but it didn't sound very convincing to his own ears so he wondered how it sounded to his lawyer. "Happy and I entered this marriage with the intention of remaining in it."

"At least until you were a citizen," Toby muttered under his breath and Walter glared at him as Happy elbowed him in the side.

"Oomph."

"Be that at it may, Mr. O'Brien," Tedreau said in a tone that indicated he saw through all of their lies. "The USCIS doesn't believe it. They don't believe there was good faith exercised when you married." He looked over at Happy. "Your answer to their question of why you wanted a divorce didn't exactly help Mr. O'Brien's case."

"Wait a minute. I thought the answers were confidential," Happy said suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes.

Tedreau shrugged casually. "I may have seen a few of them and to be quite honest I don't necessarily disagree with the decision."

"You're their lawyer, aren't you supposed to be on their side?" Sly accused.

"It's not a matter of sides, Mr. Dodd. I choose to believe that the marriage was legitimate because that is what Mr. & Mrs. O'Brien have told me, but if I was the judge reviewing the case I would likely feel differently."

"We need a new lawyer," Happy growled as she shot a look at Walter.

"What did you say, Happy? How did you answer that question?" Paige asked sharply and Happy shot her a look before shrugging.

"I said he's emotionally inaccessible and always has been."

Walter sighed and shook his head. Tedreau might as well just drive him to the airport now.

"Happy," Paige scolded with a disappointed sigh.

"Can it Dineen," Happy muttered but Walter had known Happy long enough to know she felt guilty.

"So why did her answer hurt Walter's case." Paige asked as she unconsciously stepped closer to Walter's chair.

"Because they question why she'd originally want to marry someone who was so _emotionally inaccessible_ ," the lawyer emphasized her words and Happy scoffed.

"Maybe he was great in bed," Sly offered in what he thought was a helpful manner but Happy, Toby and Cabe all cringed and groaned simultaneously.

"Ewww."

Paige blanched suddenly wondering if Walter and Happy had ever been intimate. It hadn't even occurred to her until that moment and she was surprised by the intensity of the jealousy that shot through her. She hadn't felt that level of jealousy when Walter was dating Linda. But perhaps it was just the reality of everything finally setting in.

For a brief moment Paige wondered if her legs would continue to hold her up and she reached for the back of Walter's chair.

"Enough," Walter snapped as he noticed Paige's reaction in the reflection of the monitor tree behind his lawyer. He felt the backs of her fingers against his shoulders and just that light touch calmed him.

"I don't accept there isn't an option here, Tedreau," Walter said matter-of-factly. "You need to go back to your law books and look again."

The older man sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Well we can file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals but that takes time. You will likely need to go back to Ireland and we can work to get you back into the US in six to twelve months, perhaps."

"Six to twelve months?" Paige gasped.

"Not an option," Cabe and Walter said simultaneously.

"You can stop this right now if you withdraw your petition for divorce. We can withdraw your I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence and N-400 and the two of you can remain married. There are only 14 months left before you would be able to apply to become a naturalized citizen."

"Not gonna happen," Toby said firmly. "Our child will be six months old by then. And their divorce will be final in two days. That train has long left the station."

"But if the USCIS believes the marriage is fraudulent won't they continue to pursue action against them?" Paige asked as she was overcome with visions of both Walter and Happy behind bars.

"Not necessarily," Tedreau replied. "They will be watched more closely and when Mr. O'Brien files an N-400 again, at the end of the fourteen months, the application will be heavily scrutinized."

Walter squeezed his fingers into a fist and slammed it down on to his thigh in frustration.

"I refuse to accept this outcome."

The older man shrugged. "Your options are extremely limited here, Mr. O'Brien, as you are essentially being kicked to the curb because of an unplanned pregnancy. It's not as if you were the one who fell in love with and wants to marry someone else."

Paige hiccupped softly behind him and Walter felt a shiver run through him as visions of Paige standing in front of him, wearing a wedding dress, pledging to love him forever, flooded his mind.

Unaware of the impact his words were having on two of the people in front of him Tedreau continued. "In that instance we could request an extension of the thirty day period for deportation to allow for another application to be filed by your new spouse. We could file another I-130 Petition for Alien Relative along with an I-485 Adjust Status. As it is right now your thirty day period is almost half over and they are going to absolutely deport you on the twenty second."

"That is if they don't throw him into immigration jail first," Sly said anxiously.

"Sly there is no such thing as immigration jail," Toby said soothingly. "It's just jail and it will only be for five years. We can hold down the fort at Scorpion while Walt's in the big house."

The behaviorist's attempt at lightening the moment with humor fell flat.

"I'll end up in jail with him jackass," Happy said as she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Toby, I swear if you don't shut your mouth so help me god," Paige growled at the same time as she slapped the back of his head.

"Damn, when did the women on this team become so violent?" Toby pouted as he rubbed the two spots he'd just been slapped.

"What good are you if you can't solve this for us?" Happy snapped and Paige saw the mechanic put her hand over her stomach. The liaison knew that instinct very well. This kind of stress was the last thing a woman carrying a child needed.

Paige felt her heart pounding in her chest as she knew what she had to do. The conclusion was instantaneous. It both frightened and excited her and it would either be the best or worst decision of her life.

"So if Walter marries someone else before the thirty days are up he'd be able to stay?" Paige asked evenly.

Walter stiffened in his chair in front of her wondering where she was going with her question. Exhilaration shot through him like lightening but he didn't dare hope. He wanted to turn and look at her but he found his muscles wouldn't obey his brain.

"What are you getting at Dineen?" "Where are you going with this Paige?" Happy and Toby asked simultaneously.

Tedreau looked at Paige for a moment before answering.

"In theory, yes," he said slowly. "Again, Walter would likely have to leave on a voluntary deportation for a short period of time. But we can probably get that down to only a few weeks while the application is in process and the marriage would have to take place before he left the US borders. However I can't advise or condone a fraudulent marriage."

Paige swallowed thickly and the next words out of her mouth were some of the hardest, yet truthful, she'd ever spoken.

"It wouldn't be fraudulent."

The entire room was painfully silent for what felt like forever.

"Why not?" Tedreau finally asked as he arched a skeptical brow.

Paige lifted a shaking hand, resting it on Walter's shoulder.

The genius inhaled a sharp breath as he froze. But then his body relaxed, her touch soothing him like always. He tipped his head back just as she looked down at him.

But before Paige could answer Ralph's voice rang out from stairs behind them.

"Because Walter and my mom love each other."

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Thanks again for reading and if you are so inclined leave a review. Would love to hear what you all think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion and never will. Oh well. It won't stop me from playing with them – no infringement intended.**

Thank you so much for the amazing response to this story….. I'm truly humbled and honored that you're enjoying it. I plan to reply to each review that I can (I can't reply to guest reviews so let me say thanks now) just as soon as I can. I appreciate so much that you took the time to leave a few words.

This chapter got away from me so I've had to just cut it off and break it in two. The second half will hopefully be up sometime next week.

In the meantime… enjoy and thanks in advance for reading and reviewing. It makes my heart happy.

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 **Because You Want To – Chapter 2**

"Because Walter and my mom love each other."

Paige dropped her hand from Walter's shoulder and whipped around at the sound of her son's voice.

Everyone else in the room slowly turned including Walter as he stood up. The genius caught sight of the scowl on Tim's face before the former Seal schooled his features when he realized Walter was watching him.

"Ralph, you know better than to eavesdrop on private conversations," Paige scolded the young genius.

"This conversation affects me so I should have a right to participate," Ralph replied logically and Walter's lips curved up on the right. Then he sobered as his mind drifted back to Paige and her words before Ralph spoke up. Just what in the hell did she mean?

"I think the kid is right," Toby chimed in to the conversation uninvited. "This affects him as much as it does any of us."

"Toby," Paige hissed at she pointed a finger at him. "I don't need your input right now."

"I agree with Toby," Sly added even as he cringed at the look Paige turned on him.

Mama Dineen was out in full force and no one was safe when that happened.

"Can we get back on topic here, please?" Happy said. "What exactly are you, or Ralph rather, saying Dineen?"

"Yes, Ms. Dineen," Tedreau spoke up from his chair, having already sat down again. "Would you care to elaborate on your earlier statement?"

"Ralph, come down here," Paige sighed resigned to the fact that trying to protect him from this was futile. She motioned with her hand for him to come to her and the young genius did without hesitation.

"Paige," Tim said her name and she looked at him. She could see the questions in his eyes and it took all her effort not to crumble where she stood. What had she just done?

She should have talked to Tim before she spoke out of turn but more importantly she should have discussed it with Walter before she just blurted it out to everyone.

Ralph walked up and Paige slid her fingers through his hair. It was more of a gesture to soothe her than it was him. "Tim, I know I owe you an explanation but please you have to give me a few minutes. I need to speak to Walter," Paige looked toward the man in question to find him staring intently at her.

"Ms Dineen," Tedreau spoke up again. "Are you implying that you and Mr. O'Brien want to get married because, as your son has so eloquently put it, you and Walter 'love each other'? Why did neither of you bring this to my attention earlier?" The lawyer's voice took on an accusatory tone. "Had I known my approach with USCIS would have been very different."

"Tedreau," Walter said sharply as he shot a glare at his lawyer. "Paige is not responsible for my immigration problems."

"Walter," Paige said his name firmly to get his attention. He turned his head to look at her. "We need to talk."

"Paige, you don't have to do this," he started as he shook his head.

The liaison pressed her lips together and released her son before marching over to the genius. "We are not having this conversation with an audience." She grasped his wrist and yanked him toward the kitchen.

"She's already showing him who is boss," Toby snickered and Happy hissed under her breath.

"Why are you such a dickhead sometimes?"

"It's a gift," Toby replied before leaning down and saying more softly in her ear. "I told you this was going to happen eventually."

"Shut it Doc before I shut it for you."

Paige stopped beside the stairs, theoretically out of ear shot of the others, and turned to look at Walter. He was looking at her with a mixture of confusion and awe and something she had already begun to understand was love ever since he'd admitted his feelings for her during his hypoxia episode.

"I don't understand," Walter said before she could speak.

"Ralph shouldn't have said that. I think he said it more to upset Tim than anyone else. I'll speak to him-"

"I'm not upset with him."

"Well I am," Paige frowned. "He shouldn't make statements about things he knows nothing about."

"He knows how I feel a-about you."

Paige sighed. "Walter, he knows our relationship is complicated but he doesn't know any more than that."

"Yes he does," Walter insisted as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "He asked me a few weeks ago and I told him."

Paige looked at him surprised. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he asked me," Walter replied simply because to him it was simple.

"Okay," Paige sighed again and closed her eyes. Sometimes Walter tried her patience more than her son. "Now I understand why he suddenly started throwing attitude at Tim," Paige said more to herself and Walter bit his tongue to keep what would likely be an unappreciated comment from slipping out and getting him into trouble.

Paige opened her eyes. "We're going to table this part of the discussion for the moment."

"Why did you say that?" Walter blurted out unceremoniously and it was so abrupt it startled the liaison.

She lifted her eyes to his and, as she had become so accustomed to doing when she could see he was confused or stressed, she reached out a hand and touched his arm. "Walter, I am not going to let you be deported if there is something I can do about it."

He shook his head briskly. "But you're putting yourself at risk. You're putting Ralph at risk by getting involved in this. It's illogical because the likelihood that USCIS will accept another petition from me is less than ten percent."

"Less than eight point two percent actually," Sly called from across the room and Paige's eyes snapped in the mathematician's direction.

"Stop listening Sly," she scolded before returning her gaze to the man in front of her.

"Everyone's listening," he replied in a guilty tone and Paige huffed out a frustrated breath as she grabbed Walter's wrist again, tugging his hand out of his pocket as she pulled him into the kitchen next to the table.

"They can still hear us here, you know," he said flatly.

Paige released his wrist and muttered to herself. "I'm surrounded by undisciplined children."

Walter's lips curved into a smirk and he shrugged because he couldn't dispute it. But the smile fell from his lips when Paige looked at him again. He could see the worry in her eyes and he hated that he and his mistakes put it there.

"Walter you have to believe James if he says this could work to keep you here." Paige implored. "Short of you and Happy staying married this is the only option."

"It's not truly a viable and logical option."

"Walter O'Brien," she snapped losing her patience. "You are the only true father figure my son has ever had and I refuse to allow him to lose that…. to lose you."

Walter couldn't help but wonder if her only concern was the affect Walter's departure would have on Ralph.

"But what about Tim?" Walter asked as he again shoved his hand into his pocket and rocked on the balls of his feet. "You're already in a relationship with him." He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

"Walter," Paige spoke his name gently as her eyes softened. Walter could see the conflict in her eyes and he braced himself for her reply. She lowered her voice an octave. "Tim is a very nice man and he's good to me and for me."

Walter knew this, hated that it was true, but that knowledge didn't make it any easier to hear coming from her lips. Why did he suddenly want to vomit?

"But," Paige paused briefly as she licked her lips. Walter found his gaze fixated on them, remembering once again how they felt on his and he almost missed her next words. "My feelings for him don't come into play in any way in my decision. I like him, Walter, but I don't love him."

Walter's eyes whipped up to meet hers as her last four words registered in his brain.

"You don't?" He wondered if it were possible to sound pathetic and hopeful at the same time.

"No, Walter." He had no doubt she was being honest and did the way she say his name always sound so sensual?

Walter licked his own lips as the memory of her taste flooded his senses. He wanted to kiss her. He had never wanted to kiss a woman this badly.

"The sacrifice you'll be making is too much to ask, Paige. You're putting yourself at risk and putting your life on hold for what will very likely be half a decade for someone you don't love."

Paige reached for the collar on his shirt and grasped the fabric of his button down in her fist.

"Walter, do you honestly believe that? Are you really so stubborn and blind that you don't see?"

Walter stumbled toward her as she yanked on his shirt in frustration but he stopped himself from bumping into her.

"You would do anything for me and Ralph."

It wasn't a question but Walter nodded his head in agreement anyway. There was no hesitation.

Paige's eyes flashed intensely. "How can you doubt that I would do the same for you?"

"It wouldn't be real though," he insisted. "And I don't expect-"

His words were cut off as she released his shirt and reached up, brushing her fingertips along he cheek, effectively stopping his brain from functioning.

"Do you love me Walter?"

The genius felt his body shudder and his eyes slipped closed at the feel of her soft touch. It wasn't scientifically possible to feel her touch in every cell of his body but he did. He would swear to it.

"Yes," he breathed without hesitation.

"Then this marriage will be real," she replied, dropping her hand as she stepped closer. Walter's eyes fluttered open as he felt the heat from her body so close to his. He watched as Paige's eyes dropped to his lips and she licked her own before she spoke her next words. "Because I love you, too, Walter."

Walter's eyes widened and he inhaled a quick, sharp, breath at her words. When Paige licked her lips once again, patiently waiting for her words to register, Walter gave in and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. Without another word he lowered his face and pressed his lips to hers.

Paige hiccupped into his mouth as she lifted her hands between them, fisting more of his shirt in her fingers. Walter unconsciously propelled them forward and they stumbled until Paige's back hit the cement column beside her desk. She grunted softly into his mouth and he tore his mouth away.

"Did I hurt you?" he panted against her lips and she just shook her head and pulled his mouth back to hers again before sliding her arms around his neck and burying her fingers in the short strands of his hair.

Walter pressed the length of his body against hers and a low groan escaped his lips. Their last kiss was burned into his brain and he could remember the feel and taste of her so vividly there were times over the last year he could have sworn the taste and feel were still on his lips.

But this was different. It was just as frenetic as their last kiss, a desperate tangling of lips and tongues, but he had barely allowed himself to touch her last time. He'd been afraid to touch her. But this time he indulged his desire and he let his hands slide down the sides of her body, over her hips and then around to grip her bottom, holding her flush against him even as the wall behind her prevented her from pulling away.

Paige was lightheaded and it wasn't from the lack of oxygen. Walter was kissing her like he wanted to devour her whole and the feel of his lips on her, and his body against her, made Paige feel like her brain was going to ooze out her ear.

The passion with which he was kissing her was a surprising but truly exhilarating and welcome sensation. She wasn't surprised he was capable of this kind of passion, she'd sensed it from their last kiss, and saw hints of it in many other aspects of his life. And to have all of it focused on her, all at once, was a bit overwhelming. But that only had her clutching his hair a little tighter because she feared he might also become overwhelmed and pull away from her.

A small whimper bubbled in the back of her throat when she felt him reach down and hike her leg around his hip. Paige's calf curved around his thigh and when she felt him press his hips further against her Paige gasped, her body softening instinctively and Walter sunk deeper into her and this kiss.

"Ho…. way to go 197!" Toby cheered from the other side of the room and his voice just barely penetrated Walter's awareness. He realized everyone could see them again but he refused to let it bother him despite the chatter that was now coming from the other side of the room.

"Now that's not fraudulent," Tedreau said from where he now stood next to Cabe. The Homeland agent hummed his agreement exaggeratedly. "Whoa there," Cabe said a second later. "Come on Tim. Let's you and I step outside for some air."

"As gross at that is, it's actually kinda hot," Happy murmured as Sly and Ralph gagged in unison.

There were those rare times when Walter considered his brain to be a curse, particularly because it could usually register all of his surroundings even when he was focused intently on one thing. This was one of those times.

"I'm completely uncomfortable right now," Sly's strangled tone would have made Walter laugh if he wasn't so focused on the warm, soft, sweet woman in his arms.

"I concur." Ralph agreed. "I hope they don't do that all the time after they get married." It was his young mentee's familiar voice that finally penetrated Walter's awareness and the genius realized he was pawing at the young boy's mother in front of a room full of people. What kind of man disrespects the woman he loves like that?

But the thought of pulling away was almost too painful but he softened his fingers, which were pressing insistently into the soft flesh of her thigh, and gentled his lips. The kiss softened but Walter continued to kiss her, his tongue gently caressing Paige's as their mouths slowly parted. Her lips clung to his and he gave into temptation, deepening the kiss briefly again before finally pulling his lips away.

Paige inhaled a shaky breath as Walter rested his forehead against hers. He felt himself shaking but he wasn't sure if it was him, or Paige, or both of them.

"Oh my," Paige panted softly as she caught her breath. If Walter was planning on kissing her like that on a regular basis she wasn't sure she'd survive being married to him because she would surely expire of a heart attack. Her fingertips brushed softly along the back of Walter's neck causing his body to shudder and his eyes to involuntarily close.

"Are you sure, Paige?" Walter asked and held his breath as he waited for her to answer.

"Yes," Paige's answer chuckled out of her and she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. "Do you really need to ask me after that?"

"And they come up for air," Toby's amused voice filled the garage and Paige looked over as Walter frowned and stepped back from her.

Paige looked at the faces of her son and friends. She immediately noticed Tim and Cabe were missing and guilt flooded her. He shouldn't have had to see that but Paige couldn't bring herself to regret the last few minutes. They were some of the best of her life. Still she knew he had to be hurt and confused and she owed him an explanation. But it would have to wait.

Walter placed his hand on Paige's lower back and guided her, both of them on still somewhat shaky legs, back to the team.

"Not another word Toby or I will shut you up permanently," Walter growled in warning as they came to a stop. The behaviorist held his hands up in mock surrender but his smirk told Walter more harassing was in their future.

"So this may significantly change your situation Mr. O'Brien," Tedreau said as he looked back and forth between the couple in front of him with an amused smile.

"It changes everything," Walter replied as his hand dropped from Paige's back. He didn't dare keep touching her because all he wanted to do at that moment was touch every inch of her. And that wouldn't be prudent considering how they had both so recently lost control. He wondered if Paige wanted to touch him as well but his silent question was answered a second later when he felt Paige's fingers brush against his own as his hand hung between them.

"So how do we do this?" Paige asked. "Can this really work?"

"Well it might. I need to immediately file a request for extension of Mr. O'Brien's deportation for special circumstances. The two of you need to marry as soon as you are legally able to and we will immediately file a new I-130 petition."

"Can you stop him from having to leave the country?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Tedreau shook his head negatively. "The new application will be on hold until the investigation is over. But it will go retroactive to the date of filing once it is approved."

"Are you sure this will work?" Sly asked from beside Paige.

"I cannot give you any kind of guarantee but I can tell you that I haven't lost an USCIS case yet and I've been doing this for over thirty years."

"That's good enough for me," Paige said confidently.

"How soon will the divorce be finalized?" he asked as he grabbed his tablet off the table and started typing notes into it.

"We sign the papers on Monday," Walter replied with a glance at Happy.

"Okay, so here is what I suggest you do," Tedreau started as Cabe entered the garage without Tim. "Get married immediately and take a leisurely honeymoon to Ireland or Europe. Build a honeymoon album that is more realistic and convincing that that piece of garbage you showed me. Let me do my job and I will endeavor to have you both back in the country in a few weeks, a few months at most."

"I can't leave the country for a few months," Paige looked at Walter slightly panicked before returning her gaze to the lawyer. "We have work and I can't leave my son for that long."

"First of all you don't have work. Scorpion is officially suspended pending the outcome of the immigration investigation. Second, we can all watch Ralph for however long it takes to get this resolved."

"Absolutely not," Paige said firmly. "No offense Cabe but I am not leaving my son for that long. End of story."

"Ralph can come with us," Walter suggested. "It's summer so he doesn't have school. We can make it an educational trip."

"Really?" Ralph piped up from the chair at Walter's desk where he'd migrated after his mom and Walter walked back over.

"Uh, Walt," Toby chimed in. "Kids and honeymoons don't exactly go together… unless you're making them that is."

The behaviorist wiggled his eyebrows but both Walter and Paige ignored him.

"That might look suspicious to immigration," James warned, clearly not keen on the idea.

"It will look more suspicious if Paige abandons her son for months. That isn't the kind of mother she is and I don't care how it looks. Ralph is coming with us or we don't go," Walter insisted and Paige felt her heart swell with love for him so intensely that it made her physically stagger.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he looked at her worriedly.

"Still trying to recover from that kiss I imagine," Toby chuckled under his breath but Happy heard him and reached out and pinched him.

"Oww."

"I'll tell you what," Cabe spoke up. "The two of you take a week alone together. I imagine you will likely need it. Then I will fly with Ralph to wherever you are to deliver him."

"Yes, that will work," Tedreau agreed. "Take lots of pictures. Look happy and in love. Like you just did a few minutes ago. And you need to comingle your lives quickly. The sooner and more mingled your lives are the better it will be for your petition."

"What does that mean?" Walter looked confused.

"Married couples, ones who are legitimately married, comingle their lives. You need to open a joint bank account at the very least."

"We already have one," Walter replied and he felt Paige reach for his hand. She squeezed his fingers gently.

"Walter me being a signer on the scorpion account doesn't count."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Walter looked at her as he answered. "We have a personal joint bank account."

Now it was Paige's turn to look confused. "Wait a minute; we never opened a joint account together."

"I did." Walter realized, rather quickly, that blurting that information out so casually probably wasn't the best idea especially when he saw Paige's eyes narrow.

"I never signed anything for that."

Walter cleared his throat and took a small step back. "Yes you did. When you signed the paperwork for the scorpion account. It's not my fault you didn't read what you were signing."

Paige crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't because I trusted what you handed to me," she replied and both her tone and body language told him they would be discussing the matter further when they had a moment alone.

Walter sighed. He deliberately didn't tell her about the account at the time, sneaking the papers into the other pile, hoping she wouldn't notice. And she didn't.

But now the genius was quickly realizing that perhaps that wasn't the most prudent choice and he wondered how she would feel if she ever learned about the other arrangements he made for her and Ralph. Marrying her would likely reveal it but he was not going to mention it now. He would face those consequences when the time came.

"How long has that account been open?" James asked as he made another note on his tablet.

"Almost eighteen months."

"Good," he replied. "That will definitely work in our favor. Do either of you have life insurance policies."

"Yes," they both answered in unison.

"Who are your beneficiaries?"

"My son," Paige answered.

"Paige and Ralph," Walter answered carefully and cringed as he waited for her reaction.

"What?" Paige was becoming overwhelmed by Walter's revelations. "Since when am I your beneficiary?"

He shrugged casually. "Since Megan died. She had been on everything but I had all of it, including my Will, changed to you and Ralph after her death."

"Walter?" Paige said his name as she digested yet more unexpected news.

"Well isn't this a juicy tidbit of information,' Toby drawled but then shook his head. "Wait a minute; you're married to Happy but have another woman as the beneficiary of your insurance policy and all your worldly goods if you kick the bucket? Real nice O'Brien."

"Shut it Toby," Walter growled. Why did the behaviorist always have to try to stir things up?

"Well this will unquestionably help your case, Mr. O'Brien for the new petition. It will demonstrate your commitment to Ms. Dineen and her son and due to the timing, the length of time these arrangements have been in place rather, should facilitate USCIS's acceptance of the validity of your relationship. In theory they shouldn't have any reason to reject the petition."

"That's positive," Sly said as he squeezed some hand sanitizer on his fingers.

"Of course, the investigation into the first marriage will continue but I will continue to insist it was legitimate. The only thing that could potentially derail all of this is if we can't get USCIS to dismiss the investigation. But let me worry about that for now." James walked toward the table and grabbed his brief case from the floor beside the chair. "I have to go. I have another appointment but I'll have the application paperwork sent over by messenger on Monday. Get it signed and notarized and back to me by Tuesday morning."

"James," Paige said his name as she approached him.

"Yes, Ms. Dineen?"

"Thank you," she smiled, completely overwhelmed at the moment by all of this, but she hoped he could see the relief and gratitude in her eyes.

"You're welcome."

As she and Cabe walked the man to the door and said goodbye, Walter walked to his desk and pulled up a chair beside Ralph.

"Can we talk for a minute, buddy?"

Ralph stopped playing a game of chess on Walter's computer and gave his mentor his undivided attention.

"Are you mad at me for what I said?" he asked a little nervously. "I know we had an _understanding_ about your feelings for my mom."

"No, Ralph, I'm not upset with you." And he wasn't upset with the boy. Not in the least.

When he'd told Ralph about his feelings for Paige he did his best to explain why he chose not to pursue them, hoping he adequately conveyed that it was because of how much he loved Paige that he decided it was best not to tell her at that time.

He then advised the young genius that it was probably best to keep their conversation just between the two of them. Now he questioned whether he'd put more of a burden on Ralph by asking him to keep that knowledge confidential.

Walter could see the relief in the young boy's eyes and he reached out and patted Ralph's shoulder.

"It wasn't right of me to put the burden of my feelings for your mom on you, Ralph. I'm sorry."

The young genius shrugged. "No big deal. It's not like I hadn't figured it out already. Everybody knew," he added with a roll of his eyes. "It was just your and her who couldn't figure it out. Although I suspect my mom has known for a while."

"Your mom is the most intuitive person I've ever known. Even more than Megan was."

"I know. That's why I don't understand why she's dating Tim. Or was until probably a few minutes ago."

"Uh… yeah…" Walter swallowed back the bile that always rose up his throat as he thought about Paige and Tim together. "That's…. uh… what I want to talk to you about. I want to make sure you are comfortable with my m-marrying your mom."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It is…. unexpected," Walter said because he was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea of it so he could only imagine what Ralph was feeling.

"You love my mom. She loves you. And you need a legitimate marriage to be able to stay in the country. It's the only logical choice."

Ralph replied so simply Walter was at a loss for a response for about 20 seconds. The kid was more logical that he was at times.

"If I've learned anything from your mom over the past couple of years it's that the logical choice isn't always the right one."

"Statistically that's not true. Only one point seven percent of the time is the logical choice not the right one."

Walter smiled proudly and couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped.

"You are correct. And this is likely the logical choice for me but you and your mom are the most important people in my life and I would never want to do anything to hurt either of you. So I want to make sure you are….. _comfortable_ … with this….outcome."

Ralph looked at him intently for so long that Walter felt the temptation to squirm. This child was a son to him, blood or not, and his acceptance and sanction was more important than anyone else.

"I'm pleased with the outcome." Walter felt the relief flood through him like a tidal wave. Ralph bit his bottom lip just like Paige always did and Walter could tell he had more to say."

"And?" Walter encouraged.

"I always hoped someday you'd be my stepdad," the young genius admitted and his voice was so soft Walter strained to hear it. "Almost since the first day we met."

Walter swallowed thickly, and blinked quickly, overcome with some of the strongest emotions he'd ever felt. Emotions he suspected he never would have felt if it had not been for the boy in front of him and the woman who gave him life.

"Me too, buddy," Walter said and cleared his throat when his voice faltered and as he said the words Walter realized just how true they were, even if he hadn't known it at the time.

As Paige and Cabe said goodbye to Tedreau at the door she was distracted but the sight of Ralph and Walter sitting at his desk talking quietly. It was obvious it was a serious conversation and as the door closed behind the lawyer, Paige started toward them to see exactly what it was about but Cabe grasped her elbow gently.

"Hey, kiddo. Let's talk a minute, huh?"

Paige watched as Walter smiled and squeeze Ralph's shoulder gently so she reluctantly nodded and let Cabe lead her out the door and into the alley.

They stopped halfway down. "Are you sure about this, Paige?" Cabe asked seriously not wasting any time. "This is a big sacrifice to make for our boy."

"It's not a sacrifice, Cabe. I love him."

And, God, did it feel good to be able to say that out loud to someone else. It had been torture keeping it in.

"I know you do, kid. And I know he loves you too but I hope you understand what you're getting yourself into. Just because he loves you doesn't mean he knows how to adequately express it." Cabe's warning was said with concern not malice. "Walter is still trying to understand the concept of love and I don't want to see either of you get hurt if he is unable to tell and show you the way you deserve."

Page patted the older man's arm. "Cabe, I'm under no illusions of what I'm getting into with Walter. He'll never be a man who will express his emotions easily."

"He did a pretty good job a few minutes ago when the two of you almost set the column next to your desk on fire," Cabe said drolly.

Paige felt her face heat as the blush crept up her cheeks.

Cabe chuckled for a minute and then sobered. "Speaking of I think you owe Tim an explanation. He left and will likely take the next few days off but he's hurt pretty bad."

Paige inhaled a ragged breath as she was flooded with guilt again. "I never meant to hurt him, Cabe. I didn't."

"I think he thinks you were using him to get over Walter."

Paige smiled sadly. "I wasn't doing it consciously. I was honestly at the point that I'd given up. Walter had broken my heart too many times and for my own self-preservation I had to move on. But I can understand why he probably feels that way and why he's hurt."

He nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah."

"I'll talk to him Cabe."

"You should probably give him some space for the weekend first. Give him some time to cool down. He was pretty hot."

"Okay," Paige agreed to heed Cabe's advice. "Thanks, Cabe for understanding. I know Tim is a good friend."

"Yes he is. But Walter is like a son." Cabe didn't need to elaborate any further for Paige to understand his meaning. He would always protect, support and stand up for Walter. In that she and Cabe were in sync. She would also always protect, support and stand up for Walter.

"Well we better get back in there. You and the boss have a wedding to plan," Cabe grinned and patted the hand she still had on his arm.

With Cabe's words Paige heaved out a breath as the reality of what was to come sunk in now that the adrenaline rush of it was over. It was now replaced with a warm spine-tingling feeling that enveloped her from head to toe.

Paige smiled and turned toward the door and saw Walter standing there looking at her and Cabe silently. His posture was stiff and his gaze was intense and inscrutable.

"Oh, Walter," she said as she stepped toward him. "We were just coming back in."

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

Paige nodded with a small sigh. "Yeah. We were just talking about Tim and how I need to talk to him once he has a couple of days to calm down a little."

"Hmmm," Walter hummed noncommittally.

"Walter don't start," she warned gently. "I owe him an explanation and apology."

"Apology for what?" Walter frowned. He didn't think she had anything to apologize to the interloper for.

"For not being completely honest with him," she replied patiently, knowing he likely wouldn't understand her need for penitence. "It wasn't deliberate but it also wasn't fair to him."

"Hmmmm," Walter hummed again but kept his opinion to himself. He didn't want Paige to regret her decision or, even worse, change her mind.

"On that note, I'm out of here," Cabe said quickly. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

Cabe smacked Walter on the back. "Congratulations kid. You are one lucky duck!"

"I don't know what that means," Walter grunted and Cabe just laughed as he walked away.

The genius looked over at Paige who was chuckling with a soft smile. "What does that mean? What does a duck have to do with anything?"

"He's not being literal Walter. It's his way of telling you he's happy for us."

That wasn't exactly the accurate translation but Paige felt it would do. His confusion was so adorable and because she wanted to touch him, the liaison stepped forward and slid her arms around his waist, pressing against him.

Walter tensed and she looked up at him with a question in her eyes. Had she overstepped? Was he not going to be comfortable letting her touch him even after they were married?

Walter relaxed a second later. His automatic reaction to touch was to tense up. But when his body recognized that it was her it loosened up.

He lifted his arms and wrapped them around her. He didn't need to be told that was what was expected and Walter was pleased she wanted to touch him and sought out his touch in return. He craved her touch more than he wanted to admit even to himself.

It was going to take some getting used to but having her in his arms was something Walter knew he was going to enjoy immensely.

He smiled at her and her lips curved again, almost shyly. And he was overcome with the desire to kiss her again. As if she could read his mind, Paige unconsciously licked her lips and her eyes darkened with desire.

He wasn't sure who moved first but in an instant they came together as he lowered his mouth to hers.

"I love you," he murmured against her lips, needing to tell her and it was almost alarming how much he needed to say it. She smiled against his lips and whispered the words back, the sound lost in his mouth as the kiss deepened.

This kiss was softer and slower and deeper and Walter groaned as he tightened his arms around her. He'd always found kissing awkward and messy and wet. But kissing Paige was like nothing he'd ever experienced. And as illogical as the thought was, Walter never wanted to stop.

Paige's fingers gripped the back of his shirt and she pressed against him, her head falling back as she surrendered to his kiss. The way he kissed her left her breathless and, as she felt his fingertips clutch her tighter, Paige knew being loved by Walter O'Brien was going to be worth everything else that came with it.

###########

Seven days later Walter stood in the courthouse hallway tugging at the collar and tie around his neck. Ralph stood beside him, perfectly mimicking his actions as Toby leaned against the opposite wall typing something on his phone.

Paige had them both in suits and ties and both geniuses hated them. But neither one would dare deny her on this day.

Toby looked up from his phone and snickered as he caught sight of them and he couldn't resist snapping a quick photo.

"I still can't believe you and Paige are getting married at city hall," he said as he texted the photo to Sly who was currently parking the car with Cabe.

"Why?" Walter asked and looked down at his watch for the fourth time in as many minutes. As cliché as it was, Paige was usually late, except when it came to getting Ralph to school. So the fact that they were still waiting for her to arrive was not a surprise but Walter thought she would at least be punctual at her own wedding. "It was the most efficient thing to do," he replied with another tug as his collar.

"Efficient… right," Toby drawled sarcastically. "Because that's what marrying the love of your life is supposed to be about… efficiency."

"We are on a red eye to Ireland in less than six hours and we've had exactly seven days to get our lives in order so we can be out of the country for an indefinite period of time with the slight chance I may never set foot in this country again." Walter spewed out the run on sentence and only inhaled a breath when he got to the end, before he started in again. "Excuse me for trying to get it all done, get divorced, get married again, and still make arrangements for all of you to have employment while I'm gone."

Walter had made arrangement with Richard Elia to utilize the team's resources while Walter was away. He would be available to work remotely but at least the influx of cash would allow Walter to keep them all employed while he was trying to straighten out his life.

"My mom better get here quick because I think he's melting down," Ralph said to Toby as he rolled his eyes and slipped his fingers between his tie and his button.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Walter asked with a scowl, unbuttoning his top button before buttoning it again.

"Yours?" Ralph said but it sounded more like a question and Toby snickered again.

"I have taught you well young padawan," Toby said in his best Yoda voice.

"Where is Paige?" Walter huffed out a frustrated breath. He didn't want to let on how anxious he was but he couldn't help wondering if perhaps her being late was indicative of her having second thoughts or changing her mind.

Since they decided to get married the thought that maybe she would back out plagued him at least two dozen times a day.

Everyday.

Being deported he could handle. Going to jail he likely could handle, at least for a short period of time. Having to start over again in another country, whether it was his homeland of Ireland or elsewhere, Walter could handle. It would irk him but he could handle it.

But losing Paige and Ralph, Walter had come to quickly accept, was something he wouldn't survive.

And if they didn't get married and he got deported permanently he would most surely lose them because he didn't know if she would follow him. And that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

Two years ago Walter would have scoffed at the idea that anything other than science and work and helping his sister would ever be of any significant importance to him. But in a very short time his entire world had been flipped on its axis. The small family he'd started to build with the other misfits he'd assembled had been infiltrated by a normal woman and her young genius son and she had literally changed everything.

And he would never go back…. could never go back. And so it was a bit disconcerting that the woman in question was now late to marry him.

Walter rubbed his sweaty hands on his slacks before once again looking at his watch.

"I think I should call her. Something must have happened," Walter said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Calm down 197. Happy texted me a few minutes ago and they'd just arrived in the parking garage. They ran into Cabe and Sly and they're all on their way up."

"Thank goodness," Ralph said under his breath as he yanked hard at his collar.

Walter felt the tightness in his chest release when a moment later Paige and her entourage came around the corner. Walter stopped breathing as she approached him. She was wearing a simple white knee length summer dress that swung around her thighs as she walked. Her hair flowed in long waves cascading over her shoulders and she was smiling as she walked quickly toward him.

"I know I'm late. I'm always late."

Walter just stared at her and she tilted her head to the side as she stopped in front of him.

"Walter, are you okay?"

Her words registered but he was still unable to move or respond until he felt Ralph yank on his arm.

"Huh?" Walter finally blinked and inhaled a long needed breath. "Did you say something?"

Paige laughed lightly knowing it was her arrival that threw him off balance and she couldn't help but feel powerful and beautiful – something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Are you ready for this?" Paige rubbed his arm gently.

"Yes," Walter nodded slowly and returned her smile.

"What's wrong with him? He's acting like a dope," Happy said as she stepped up beside Toby.

"He's Walt. What do you expect," Toby shrugged as he greeted his fiancé.

"Be nice," Sly scolded. "You should be nice to people on their wedding day."

Paige looked over at Sly and gave him a warm smile. They had spoken briefly in the elevator about Megan and how he was feeling today.

While the mathematician eyes saddened briefly at the mention of his wife, he quickly recovered and told Paige that Megan would have been so happy for them. And he knew she was looking down and watching her brother finally get it right.

Sly also confided that before she died his wife told him that Paige and Ralph were the best things to ever happen to her brother and she had no doubt Walter would get his head out of his ass, _eventually_ , because he was already head over heels in love with the liaison even though he didn't realize it.

Paige's eyes had blurred for a second as she was struck with an immense gratitude that Megan O'Brien Dodd had once lived. She gave the man Paige loved a safe place to be himself and be accepted for who he was. Then she went on to give Sylvester, a man who had been afraid of the world, the courage to open up and be brave.

"You look pretty, mom," Ralph said from beside her, still yanking at his collar, and Paige flushed with delight as she looked down at her son. She stepped over and pulled him into her arms, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. She pushed Ralph's fingers aside and adjusted his collar and tie and the young boy sighed with relief. She smiled at him and brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you, sweetie."

Walter silently kicked himself realizing he should have told Paige she looked lovely the second she stepped in front of him. But how was a man who swallowed his tongue supposed to be able to speak?

"O'Brien and Dineen?" A man stepped out of the small courtroom and called their names.

"Alrighty then," Toby said as he slapped his hands together. "Let's go get these two kids hitched"

"Ugh," Happy sighed as she pushed off the wall and handed Paige her small bouquet of tulips. "Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?"

"Because I can be." Toby slung his arm over Happy's shoulders and led her through the door. Sly and Cabe followed with Ralph trailing behind.

Paige laughed and moved to also follow but Walter's hand on her elbow stopped her.

She turned her head and saw him looking at her the way he did almost all the time now. How hadn't she seen it before? But then again even if she had seen it, it likely wouldn't have mattered. He was too stubborn.

Walter O'Brien came around to things in his own time, he needed time for his brain to catch up with the rest of him, and if Paige was going to love and spend her life with him she had to accept him as he was. She was under no illusion that loving him was going to be easy. But he was worth it.

"Walter?" she said his name inquisitively with an arch of her brow.

"You look lovely," he said sincerely and her lips curved as her eyes crinkled in the corners. "I-I should have t-told you right away. My brain temporarily short circuited," he admitted sheepishly as he once again tugged at his collar.

Paige handed him the flowers and reached up to adjust the button and loosen his tie just as she'd done for Ralph. And miraculously the feeling of being strangled vanished. She lifted one hand and brushed her fingertips against his cheek and Walter's eyes fluttered closed as his body shuddered.

Paige leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, cupping his cheek in her hand.

"I like knowing I can make your brain short circuit," she replied as she pulled back.

"I love you," he blurted it out, proving her point perfectly. It would have startled her but she was getting used to it already. It had only been a week since he admitted to her, while not under the effects of hypoxia, that he loved her. And he had the tendency to blurt it out suddenly, out of the blue, and at inappropriate times. He didn't pay attention to where they were or who was around. If he felt compelled to say it he just did.

"I know," she whispered as she kissed the dimple in his chin.

He lowered his face with the intention of kissing her when Toby's head poked around the door.

"Hey you two…. no starting the honeymoon before the vows. Get your butts in here already so we can get this over with. I'm hungry and our reservations at Escala won't fill themselves."

The low growl of frustration that bubbled up from Walter's chest caused Paige to chuckle and she stepped back. She took back her bouquet and held out her hand.

"So you wanna go in and get married?" she asked and he smiled and nodded as he took her hand.

As he followed her through the door Walter came to the very life changing conclusion that he would follow her anywhere she asked.

* * *

So…. this chapter was supposed to have the first smut but it got away from me…. so like I said earlier I have to break it into two parts. Smut will be in the next chapter. Sorry for the delay but I'll make it worth the wait.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion…**

I wanted to get this up days ago but it's been a crazy week and what started out as approximately 5k words morphed into 10k words which morphed into over 15k words with no logical place to break it except after the first smut scene – which is a place I really didn't want to break it. But I had no choice. These two chapters have a lot of foreshadowing and are setting up the rest of the story so I didn't want to rush them. The balance of this chapter will be posted by Sunday night.

Anyway…. thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing. And thanks to WeBuiltThePyramids for the shout out in her _Naturalization_ story. If you haven't checked hers out – head over there and give it a read. It's raw, real and brilliant.

Enjoy the smut! Don't read if that's not your thing because that's half of the 10k words.

* * *

 **Because You Want To – Chapter 3**

"I'm concerned about Ferret Bueller's well being while we're gone."

Walter looked up from where he was shoving an extra phone charger into his backpack to see Ralph standing in front of him holding the ferret in question.

"I'm sure Toby will take adequate care of him," Walter answered as he gave his desk one last once over to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything.

"He's so concerned about Happy and the baby, he might forget to feed him or something," Ralph said worriedly and Walter could see that it was a real concern for the young genius.

"I'll talk to him before your mom and I leave," Walter reached over to pet Ferret Bueller before he zipped up his bag. "Are you going to be okay this week, pal?"

"Yeah." Ralph nodded his head. "Cabe and Sly have lots of things planned. I think they're worried I'm going to feel abandoned by my mom or something."

"Do you feel that way?" Walter asked as he walked around the desk.

"No." Ralph shook his head as he snorted out a short laugh just, exactly, the way Paige often did. "You're newlyweds. You and mom should spend some time alone. Maybe you can get all that kissing out of your system before we all spend what could months in each other's company," the young genius finished seriously.

"Ah…um…" Walter sputtered and cleared his throat. "We, uh, won't-"

"It's kinda gross watching your mom do that kind of stuff, you know." Ralph shuddered exaggeratedly.

"Kissing isn't so bad sometimes," Walter finally recovered and offered honestly but understood how a kid Ralph's age would feel differently. He certainly did when he was his age. Hell Walter thought kissing was mostly unpalatable until he tasted Paige's lips.

"I wanted to gag every time she and Tim kissed," Ralph added with a pinched face, clearly indicating his disgust, unaware that the image his words invoked made Walter want howl like a dying animal.

He'd been able to suppress the memory that his new wife had been with another man as little as a week ago. Fortunately the interloper hadn't shown his face since that night and they'd been so busy getting things in order that Walter was able to put it out of his mind. The platinum ring on his left hand proved the interloper was out of the picture, but did Ralph really have to bring up the topic of Paige's lips on another man's?

"Yes, I can see how that would be disturbing," Walter replied and his lips pursed in disgust as well.

"Sweetie, Sly is almost ready," Paige said as she walked up smiling at her two favorite men. "We're going to drop you two off at home on our way to the airport."

She reached out and slid her fingers through his short hair. It was something she did a lot, much to his chagrin, which she knew, but it soothed her. Fortunately he seemed to know that so he usually let her do it for ten or fifteen seconds before he pulled away.

"Okay," he said as he ducked away from her and handed off the ferret. Walter saw the flash of hurt on Paige's face before she hid it again.

He knew she, logically, understood that Ralph's discomfort with touch was just how he was built, the same way it was just how Walter was built, but she still, instinctively, reacted emotionally to what she perceived as rejection because that was just how _she_ was built.

"I have to get the rest of my stuff out of the loft," Ralph said as he walked away and Paige tucked the ferret against her chest as she watched him. She blinked her eyes as they started to blur. She'd spent time away from her son in recent years when he visited Drew in Maine, or she had to go out of the country on a case, but this was different and a part of her felt like she was abandoning him.

As if he could read her mind, Walter stepped closer to her and spoke quietly.

"He doesn't feel like you're abandoning him."

Paige looked over at him as Ferret Bueller chattered and squirmed in her hands as he tried to shove his head down the front of her shirt.

"How do you know?" she asked as she inhaled a shuddering breath.

"I asked him." Walter flexed his fingers wanting to touch her. Knowing how much her touch soothed him, he wanted to return the gesture. But somehow, now, it meant more, and Walter still wasn't sure how to process the reality that she was his wife now and what was expected from him in this regard.

"And what did he say?" Paige asked as she turned to face him.

Walter reached over and tugged on the back of Ferret Bueller's head. The animal had gotten it stuck between two of the buttons on Paige's shirt but she clearly hadn't noticed. "He said he'd like us to get any kissing out of our system before he arrives next week so he doesn't have to see it."

Paige choked out a laugh. "Are you kidding me?"

Walter chuckled with her. "Nope."

The words "then we should plan to do a lot of kissing before he gets there" were on the tip of her tongue but when she noticed the look in his eyes, Paige lost her train of thought. He looked like he wanted to kiss her right then and she wondered if he'd do it.

In the last seven days, although he'd been blurting out he loved her with little regard for where they were, who they were with, and the decibel level with which he spoke the words, Walter had only kissed her a handful of times when they were alone. It seemed to overcome him randomly and suddenly, like his words, and when it was over Paige was often light headed and out of breath. For a man who she knew had limited experience with touch and kissing, he could turn her entire body and brain to mush when he put his lips on hers, And all Paige could think about was what would happen once they were truly alone for a week.

Walter started leaning toward her and, recognizing his intention already, Paige's lips parted in anticipation. But then he scowled and pulled back.

"Ow," he yelped and yanked his hand away when Ferret Bueller nipped his fingers.

The animal chattered at him defiantly before burrowing into Paige once more, diving his head down the front of her shirt again.

"Stop it you little perv," Paige frowned and scolded as she pulled him away.

Walter stepped back disappointed their moment was interrupted. "We need to leave in a few minutes."

Paige also released a disappointed sigh. "Cabe wants to talk to you privately before we head out."

"Okay," Walter nodded before he turned and walked away. Paige lifted Ferret Bueller so he was level with her face.

"I'm a married woman now, you need to stop that," she scolded as she tapped him on the nose. He chattered at her, still clearly annoyed. She sighed again and tucked him against her chest as she nuzzled the top of his head. "And you better keep an eye on my baby until he's with me again or this is the last time you'll get near my boobs."

###########

Cabe was standing near the Airstream talking on his cell phone when Walter walked up.

"Thanks for the heads up. I owe you one. Say hi to Annie."

The agent hung up his call and turned toward Walter.

"We don't want to cut it too close. Are you and Paige ready?" he asked and Walter nodded his head.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Walter felt his pocket to make sure his passport was there. "Let's just hope I'll be allowed back in the country at some point because no one else is going to want to have to clean this place out if I have to shutter Scorpion when they throw me in Guantanamo."

Cabe shook his head clearly not amused with Walter's awkward attempt at lightening the moment.

"Immigration marriage fraud doesn't get you thrown into Guantanamo. And James will get it worked out. It may take some time but he will."

Cabe sounded confident but Walter wished he felt more.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on Ralph this week."

"No problem, kid." Cabe grinned. "I'm looking forward to it. Although I have to say was surprised Drew didn't want him considering he'll be overseas with you and Paige for the rest of the summer."

"Drew is a selfish bastard," Walter muttered harshly remembering how upset Paige had been when Drew said he was too busy with his new girlfriend to take Ralph.

"Some men are not made to be fathers," Cabe muttered in a matching tone. "And some are," he added as his voice softened and he patted Walter on the shoulder affectionately.

Walter looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Paige said you wanted to talk to me privately."

"Yeah," Cabe replied as he took a deep breath.

Walter knew that sound.

"I can tell you're trying to find the best way to tell me something. That's an inefficient waste of time and energy. You should just say whatever you have to say."

"So as you know I am not allowed to have any part of the investigations into either your and Happy's marriage or your and Paige's."

Walter nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yes because USCIS falls under Homeland's jurisdiction and it's a conflict of interest."

"Yes, but I do have many friends in influential places."

"And?" Walter asked as Cabe turned toward him and lowered his voice even though no one else was near them.

"A buddy of mine told me something off the record and I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on."

"Okay."

Walter looked across the garage to where Paige was still holding Ferret Bueller and, clearly, lecturing Toby, Walter had no doubt, about caring for the ferret.

"USCIS is planning to monitor you and Paige pretty aggressively. Random unannounced visits, as you know, are common but infrequent. But you and Paige are going to have a third and possibly a fourth person in your marriage pretty quick and for the foreseeable future."

Walter pursed his lips. "I figured as much considering my situation."

"There's a reason they required your travel itinerary as a condition of even considering your application. You're a high value government asset and that's the only reason they're even allowing you the opportunity to apply again. Anyone else would have been jailed or deported."

This Walter also knew.

"So I want you to be diligent, kid. You and she will very likely be observed on this trip. And don't be surprised if you have USCIS agents approach you while you're out and about. You'll be required to submit to an interview on the spot."

"That should be illegal," Walter growled.

"You're not a citizen, son, and certain rights are not yet extended to you."

"But Paige is," Walter insisted, knowing that getting angry at Cabe was illogical but he couldn't help it.

"Yes," Cabe agreed. "But it's not going to matter in this instance. As far as USCIS is concerned this marriage is just as fraudulent as your first one, until proven otherwise."

"What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Walter scoffed rhetorically, starting to reconsider his opinion of the United States. Then he released a heavy sigh. "What have I gotten her into Cabe?"

"Nothing she can't handle," Cabe replied confidently. "Look son, you need to trust she knows what she got herself into with you. She's a smart woman and tougher than you geniuses often give her credit for."

"She's tougher than I'll ever be," Walter admitted with no embarrassment because it was just a fact.

"On that note I do have one more piece of advice for you."

"What's that" Walter asked wearily. As a rule Walter didn't get tired but he was starting to feel exhausted.

"I know I was tough on you all those weeks ago when you first wanted to tell Paige how you felt."

Walter stiffened remembering how it hurt when Cabe, essentially, told him he wasn't good enough for Paige. Even though, logically, the genius knew Cabe meant well and, ultimately that he was right, it still stung and Walter didn't realize the wound was still raw until Cabe brought it up again.

"You were only being honest."

"Look, I care about you, Walter, and I care about Paige. You're my kids. So help me all of you wacko geniuses have become my kids," Cabe sighed dramatically before he got serious again. "And I only want what's best for you."

Walter felt a knot forming in his stomach suspecting where this was going and he crossed his arms. His defensive posture was not lost on the Homeland agent.

"This week has been a whirlwind," Cabe continued. "Paige's gesture is one that proves how much she loves you and it's easy to get caught up in the thrill of it when you know the woman you love loves you back. I don't doubt you love her, son. I always knew you had it in you, in here." Cabe put his hand on the left side of Walter's chest, over his heart. Walter stiffened and looked down with a frown but didn't step back. "But love is a risk and takes work. Just because you love each other doesn't mean everything is going to be rainbows and kittens. The woman you married is amazing and kind and generous and beautiful both inside and out."

"Yes she is," Walter agreed without hesitation as he looked back up at the man who had once been his mentor.

"So don't take her for granted. It's not enough just to tell her you love her, son, because words are meaningless when they're not followed by action. I know showing your emotions are hard for you but you have to show her you love her every day. Take it from a man who learned the hard way, nothing should take priority over your wife. Nothing!"

Cabe stepped back and Walter was grateful because the proximity was starting to make him uneasy.

"Trust her and don't be afraid to show her the darkest parts of you because she will be a safe place for you."

Walter sucked in a breath as Cabe's words triggered the memory of Paige talking to Sly during the Quantum computer case. She reminded the mathematician that his wife was the one person who made him feel completely safe.

Didn't Cabe know that Paige was already that for him, had been, almost since the day she walked into his life, and absolutely since his sister died?

"I don't want to see you or Paige get hurt and you're gonna screw up, kid. It's inevitable. Every man does. But-"

"What Cabe is trying to say is don't screw up too much or your wife just might wise up and ditch your ass in a foreign country," Toby's sarcastic voice came from behind the column to their left.

"It's rude to interrupt private conversations, Doc," Cabe said with a scowl.

"Like that's ever stopped me before," Toby waved his hand dismissively as he walked up to the duo. "And you're gonna scare our boy, Cabe, with all this love talk. Believe me I tried for almost two years to get through his thick skull about his feelings for the lovely new Mrs. O'Brien. But 197 knows what he's got. Don't you 197?"

Despite the rock that now replaced the knot in his stomach, Walter knew Cabe, again, meant well with his attempted pep talk. But for once the genius was grateful for Toby's often obnoxious interruptions. At least until Toby opened his mouth again.

"Do we need to have the birds and the bees' conversation before you leave on your honeymoon, big brain?"

"Goodbye, Toby," Walter said flatly before he turned to walk away. "Cabe we're going to be late for our flight."

"What no hug?" Toby called after him. "I'm hurt 197."

"Why do you have to be like that?" Cabe asked as he smacked Toby on the shoulder.

"Because, old man," Toby smacked him back. "You were scaring the crap out of him. Did you not see the wild look he was getting in his eyes? Talk about pressure and performance anxiety."

That was the last thing Walter heard as he walked away and he inhaled a deep breath. The rock didn't lessen at all as he walked up to Paige who was talking with Happy, assuring the mechanic that she should call or text anytime she had any pregnancy questions.

"Ready?" Walter asked as he came to a stop beside his wife. She looked at him and smiled as she nodded. And with that one gesture everything inside him loosened. He was overwhelmed with love for her but, as he was about to tell her, Cabe's words from a few minutes ago stopped him and kept him silent.

#########

"You've been staring at me for the past half hour," Paige murmured softly from her seat without opening her eyes. She'd been able to feel him watching her almost since their flight took off.

"How do you know? Your eyes are closed," his voice was amused and she could tell he was smiling even without opening her eyes.

"I can feel your eyes on me," she said with a soft smile as she turned her head and looked at him.

The sheepish look on his face had her chuckling and she reached for his hand.

"I don't mind. I actually kinda like it."

"I love you," he blurted out rather loudly and the couple sitting on the other side of the aisle looked over. He'd been dying to say it since the garage and he just couldn't hold it in any more.

"Walter," she said in a low voice. "I love you, too, but I don't think the rest of the plane really cares how we feel."

He pulled his hand away and fisted it on his thigh as he looked straight ahead. "I don't care but I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Hey," she said as she reached up and turned his face toward her. His eyes met hers. "I'm not embarrassed." She leaned forward and pressed her nose against his cheek. "I love hearing you say it."

The feel of her lips and warm breath against his skin had Walter's body shuddering. He turned his face and captured her lips, releasing a low groan as the taste of her hit his taste buds. He lifted his hand, cupping the back of her neck, and sank into her as her lips parted granting him the access he sought. Walter deepened the kiss as Page reached up and grasped his wrist with one hand, sliding the other into his hair just above his left ear. The fingers of his left hand pressed into the soft flesh of her thigh as he gripped it.

Walter had been holding back for so long, fighting his feelings for her, denying they even existed, that now that he was letting them out they were overflowing like lava from a volcano.

And through the haze of his desire for her, Walter stamped down the fear that he was overwhelming her because he didn't know how to hold it back anymore.

##########

Paige stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel off the warming rack and wrapping it around her body. She stepped up to the mirror, using her hand to wipe a circle through the steam that had accumulated. Her skin was pink in the reflection and she reached for her hairbrush on the counter as she started her nightly ritual.

She and Walter arrived in Dublin several hours earlier and checked into their hotel immediately. It was just before dinner, local time, so they grabbed a quick bite to eat at the pub next to the hotel before coming back to their room and settling in for the night.

Their wedding night.

Although technically their wedding night was the previous night, they had been on their flight from LA and, due to the time difference, it was now technically the second night of their marriage.

She grabbed her bottle of lavender scented lotion and slathered a light coating of it on her skin. She knew Walter loved the scent of lavender on her, having overheard him and Toby talking about it one time when they didn't know she was there. It was after her and Walter's first kiss and mutual decision to ignore their attraction. But she remembered thinking it didn't sound like it was the first conversation the two men has about her and how she smelled.

She wanted Walter to feel comfortable. She could hear him puttering around behind the door, she didn't have to be in the same room to feel the anxiety emanating from him, and if the familiar scent helped, all the better.

She was nervous, too, not sure exactly how things would go, but knowing her new husband the way she did, she suspected he was likely more nervous than she was. He had a lot more baggage than she did and getting him out of his own head was likely to be a challenge.

But as Paige dropped her towel and slipped on the burgundy negligee, she'd purchased three days ago, her confidence surged. It fell over her body clinging in all the right places, leaving little to the imagination, but covering just enough to create anticipation.

She debated for a few seconds about foregoing the matching panties but decided that Walter would likely need the extra time it took to remove the material to get his bearings.

Paige brushed her teeth and then grabbed her hair dryer, deciding she would dry her hair in the room so Walter could have his turn in the shower. She opened the bathroom door quietly and stepped into the room to find Walter sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning over with his head in his hands.

"Walter, are you alright?"

He looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of her before he quickly schooled his features. He couldn't hide, however, how they'd darkened with desire and Paige felt her body shiver under the heat of his gaze.

He stood up and stumbled slightly. "Uh... y-yeah, I'm f-fine."

Paige tried to hide the smile forming on her lips. She loved him the most when he was stumbling and awkward. Not because she liked to see him uncomfortable but because that was the man she fell in love with. And he was most vulnerable, at those times, when he would let her see a glimpse underneath the outwardly arrogant genius with the 197 IQ. His intelligence was an extraordinary gift but he was so much more than his IQ.

"You can have the shower now," she said as she walked over to the table in the corner and set her dryer and brush on it.

"Uh… okay," he said as he bolted toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and Paige couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped. She wasn't laughing at him, not really, but the man who just ran into the bathroom like his ass was on fire was not the same man who tried to devour her whole on the plane a few short hours ago.

It was surreal to have that him act like that, when he had always been so aloof. But it gave her the confidence that that man was under there. She just needed to coax him out, give him a safe place to feel loved and accepted, and she had no doubt that man would surface again. The one that blurted out his love for her, for the entire world to hear; the one who kissed her like that was all he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

Paige dried her hair slowly, brushing it into long waves, wondering how the rest of the night was going to play out. A quick girly thrill rushed through her with the knowledge that this was real. This was her wedding night with Walter O'Brien. She'd pinched herself so often over the past week just to make sure it was real, and she wasn't just in the middle of a dream, that Paige was surprised she wasn't covered in bruises.

And, granted, they may have gotten here in a very unconventional way, they were still here nonetheless. The last week had been a whirlwind of uncertainty and anxiety in a lot of respects. While both she and Walter had finally admitted the depths of their feelings for one another, that didn't make all their other issues go away, including his inability to process emotion.

Although, the emotion pouring out of the man, in the last seven days, was a bit overwhelming at times. To have him go from vehemently and adamantly denying that he felt any emotion to blurting out his love for her, almost constantly, was something that was difficult to wrap her mind around.

On the plane she'd been truthful when she told him that she loved when he said it to her. She'd ached for so long to hear him say it. But she never thought she would. She didn't doubt his words, not at all, but she wondered why he felt compelled to tell her so often. Confidence and arrogance were so much of Walter O'Brien's personality that to see him so obviously insecure was a bit disconcerting.

As she flipped her hair to the side Paige thought she heard Walter say something in the bathroom so she turned off the hair dryer.

"Walter?" she said his name and waited to see if he would respond. But after waiting for almost a full minute no other sound came from bathroom so she turned the dryer back on and continued with her task.

By the time she finished she could hear the water was off and Walter was moving behind the door. He had removed the pillows from the bed and pulled the duvet to the foot leaving the soft white sheets intact on the mattress. So Paige grabbed her phone and sat on the end of the bed to send a quick text to Ralph, letting him know they arrived safe and she missed him and loved him.

By the time she hit send the door to the bathroom opened and Walter stepped out. He was wearing a pair of plaid cotton pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. His hair was wet and all in disarray as he scratched his fingers through the short strands.

"Evidently in my diligence to pack enough clothing for an extended trip, I… uh… forgot to pack a comb."

Paige smiled and grabbed her brush and walked over to him.

"Thanks," he said almost shyly and Paige sighed softly. How was it possible she loved the man in front of her more than she did yesterday or the day before? But as she watched him brush his hair, almost self-consciously, and then reach around her to set the brush back on the bureau, all the while never taking his eyes off her, she was sure that she did.

"I sent Ralph a text to let him know we arrived okay," Paige said to fill the silence.

"I sent him one while we were waiting for the rental car….. when you were in the bathroom," he added when she looked confused for a second. "I knew he'd want to know you were safe."

"Did he reply?"

Walter nodded as he kept his eyes on her face because all he wanted to do was drop and drink in the sight of her breasts encased in silk and lace.

"Yeah," he swallowed. "He'd just woken up and was getting ready to go to the science museum with Cabe and Sly."

"They're going to spoil him rotten while we're gone."

"Probably," he agreed before he blurted out, "You look lovely." He frowned when she chuckled softly. "Why is that funny?" he asked clearly confused.

"It's not," she reached up and placed her hand on his chest. "You just blurt things out to me now though. Do you realize that?"

Walter felt the heat of her fingers through the cotton of his shirt as his brow furrowed.

"I guess I do," he said uncertainly. "I-I just… I don't…. I don't know how to do this, Paige," he admitted with a sigh and stepped back.

"What don't you know how to do?" she asked as she dropped her hand.

He pursed his lips and inhaled a deep breath before he replied. "B-be what you need… what you deserve."

Paige sucked in a quick breath as he used words almost verbatim to the time he was in the Richard Elia's capsule. They had never talked about it. Toby told her that Walter eventually remembered his hypoxia induced hallucinations, even hacked into the footage of Richard Elia's command center, but he never confronted her about it. He probably assumed she only said it to get him to pull the lever and she supposed they'd one day have to confront that elephant in the room. But tonight was not it.

Instead she stepped closer and reached up, sliding her fingers through his hair, sensing he needed some kind of gesture on her behalf.

Walter's eyes fluttered as the scent of her surrounded him, a combination of lavender and her that had his stomach, instantly, clenching with need.

"Walter, we need to get something straight right now, okay," Paige said in her matter-of-fact way as she tilted his head down to her. "I'm not going to spend our honeymoon or the rest of our lives trying to convince you that you're everything I want. I wouldn't be here with you if you weren't."

He swallowed and opened his eyes. "Duly noted."

Walter fisted his hands at his side because he wanted to reach for her but he wasn't sure that was a good idea. He wasn't sure what he would do if he got his hands on her at that moment.

Paige stepped even closer and slid her hands down the side of his neck and his eyes rolled before his lids slipped closed again.

Paige decided she really liked the way he reacted when she touched him, but when she felt him tremble slightly she took pity on him, particularly when she realized his was holding his breath.

"Walter, just breathe," she soothed as she dropped her hands to his chest and waited for him to open his eyes. They were almost black with desire. How had she never known he had this inside him?

She leaned forward and pressed her nose against his cheek, her breath warm against his skin. "There's no pressure here. And there's no rush. We have all night."

She let her lips brush along his cheek and felt his hands finally reach for her and grip her hips.

"W-we don't have to do this. If you're n-not ready. We don't have t-to-" he stuttered as his fingers flexed in the flimsy material that covered her.

"Yes, we do," she purred against his ear when she reached it.

He was still and silent for so long Paige almost pulled away, thinking she had read his signals wrong. But as she started to step back he yanked her closer.

"Thank god," Walter groaned as he turned his head to capture her lips. Paige hiccupped in surprise, which quickly morphed into a moan when Walter wrapped her in his arms and deepened the kiss.

Paige slid her hands up, again, and into his hair as his tongue slipped between her lips, slowly and gently tangling with hers. This kiss wasn't hurried. It wasn't frantic. It wasn't messy. But it was so intense Paige felt like her head was going to explode. Walter O'Brien did everything in his life with an intensity that sometimes bordered on obsession and kissing was no different.

For a split second she wondered how he'd make love and whether or not she'd survive it, but when their lips parted as both their lungs demanded oxygen, and her mind cleared for the briefest of seconds, Paige decided if that was how she was going to go, she was going to savor every second of her demise.

"You truly are the most beautiful woman I have ever known," he murmured as he rested his forehead against hers and panted harshly.

"Thank you," Paige said and brushed her lips against his before sinking her teeth into his bottom lip.

Walter growled low in the back of his throat. "I have no idea what you're doing here with me."

"Well why don't you let me show you?" she purred before their lips fused again.

Walter's hands slid down her hips and he bunched the hem of her negligee in his fingers. Paige sunk into the kiss and they stumbled backward toward the bed. When the back of his calves hit the mattress Walter dropped down with an "oomph" as their lips parted.

Paige laughed softly and recovered the use of her brain quicker than he did. She pushed on his chest to urge him onto his back and she climbed over him. She straddled his waist before slipping her hands beneath his t-shirt, her fingers caressing the warm skin of his abdomen.

Walter's entire body jerked softly and her name escaped his lips in a hoarse groan. He quickly flipped them and pushed her up a little higher on the bed before lowering her down onto the mattress, He tore his lips away, panting harshly, as he rested his forehead between her breasts. He could feel her heart thudding in her chest beneath him.

Paige's eyes fluttered open and she ran her fingers through his hair gently, again, giving them both a minute to catch their breath.

Almost a minute later Walter lifted his head and looked down at her. Her skin was flushed, her lips swollen from his kisses and she was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Paige smiled as she shimmied further up to the center of the bed, her negligee riding up, revealing and exposing the dip between her hips just above the waistband of her panties.

Walter watched her move, his eyes following her, and he reached for her, resting his palm on her stomach as his fingers splayed over the curve of her abdomen. He crawled over her and lowered his mouth to hers again, kissing her softly as his fingertips caressed her warm skin.

Paige trembled gently and wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hands down his back.

"Walter," she gasped softly as he released her lips and slid his over her cheek as he remained on his knees between her thighs.

He brushed his lips over her ear before burying his face in her neck. He fought to keep control but he was so overwhelmed with and by her and it felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

Paige wrapped her calf around the back of his thigh and pulled him down so he settled into the cradle of her thighs.

He groaned as he settled on top of her. Every inch of her pressed against every inch of him and the sensation was so overwhelming he was on sensory overload.

"I love you," Paige whispered against his ear as she just held him, letting him get used to the feel of her beneath him.

Walter's entire body shuddered again. "Paige," he murmured with a tone of regret. "I don't. I c-can't."

He struggled for words and it was painful to hear him.

"Walter," she said his name softly, her tone one of understanding.

He continued to pant harshly almost like he couldn't catch his breath. "It-it's too much. I don't know how to p-process."

"Roll with me," she urged softly as she pressed another kiss to his ear, knowing if she didn't get him calmed down, and outside his head, this night was going nowhere.

He did as she asked and rolled off her, settling on his side facing her.

She left some space between them, as much as she didn't want to, resting her hands in neutral territory on the mattress between them.

She waited for him to open his eyes and look at her. "Walter, I know touch makes you uneasy but I thought my touch was okay."

"It is," he admitted as he grasped her fingers and brought them to the center of his chest. "Your touch is the only one that doesn't make my skin crawl."

She smiled sadly at him. What it must be like to go through life that uncomfortable with physical contact?

She reached up and fluttered her fingers along his jaw. "What can I do?"

"Don't stop." Walter grasped her hand and turned his face so his lips brushed against her palm. "You're the only one."

The trust and vulnerability he was showing her was humbling and she blinked to keep the moisture that was threatening to accumulate in her eyes at bay.

"We don't have to do this tonight, Walter. If you're not ready," Paige repeated his words from earlier even though she thought she might internally combust if their night came to an end now. She wanted him so much she could already feel herself pulsing in anticipation.

"I want to," he said urgently as his eyes widened with panic. "I just need to get used to it. T-to you. No one has ever affected me like you do."

Relief flooded her and Paige closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again and grinned as she got to her knees.

"Sit up?" she encouraged and he again did as she asked. He would do anything she asked of him.

"Sit back against the pillows." He scooted back and settled against the headboard. She crawled up beside him and settled on her knees beside his hip.

"We're going to try something - a game of sorts if you're up for it?"

He looked at her warily. "Do I have much of a choice?"

She laughed as she urged him to sit forward so she could stuff another pillow behind him to give his back more support. "Yes. We can just go to sleep if you prefer?"

"No," he blurted out panicking again.

Her lips curved wider and she reached up with one hand and fluttered her fingers down the side of his face. "Then trust me, okay."

"I trust you completely." He breathed the words through a shuddering breath. And it was the truth. He trusted her more than any one.

"Then trust I won't do anything that pushes you beyond your limits."

He nodded his head and watched her, his eyes zeroing on her thighs where her negligee rode up, as she leaned over and shut off the light on the bedside table. It plunged the room into partial darkness with the only light left coming from the lamp that stood behind the chair next to the balcony.

"So what is this game?" he asked as his eyes whipped back to her face when she turned back to him, but not quick enough that she didn't know exactly what he was doing.

"Let's just call it _touch_ ," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Ohhh-kay." Walter dragged the word out skeptically making her laugh.

He loved the sound so much.

She scooted closer and pressed her knees against his thigh as she lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers in the air.

"So I'm going to touch you different ways and in different places and you need to tell me if it's okay."

"Um… I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he looked a little panicked again.

"Oh, I assure you it's a great idea. I'm actually looking forward to this."

"I'm not," he muttered and then his eyes widened in alarm. "W-what I m-mean is. I-I d-didn't mean-"

Paige pressed her hand over his mouth. "Relax, Walter, I know what you meant."

He exhaled out a relieved breath and she titled her head as she looked at him silently for a minute. He knew that look. Her nose scrunched up and she bit her lip like that only when she wanted to ask something but was uncertain whether he would answer her.

She dropped her hand from his mouth. "Before we start, I need you to tell me something. And I need you to be honest with me, Walter."

"Okay..." he said again dragging out the word.

"Have you done this before?"

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Done what?"

Paige reached out and rested her hand on his thigh as she arched her brow at him.

His burgeoning erection twitched inside his pajamas at the feeling of her hand so close and he stilled as he waited for her to notice and acknowledge it. But she didn't and just waited patiently for him to answer her.

Walter continued to look at her confused for another few seconds and then his eyes widened with recognition.

"Serious… seriously?" he sputtered out. There went his erection. "You're seriously asking me that?"

She just nodded her head and he could see she was completely serious. He sighed and his eyes slid away from her gaze. Logically it was a valid question considering his aversion to contact and Walter should have figured she would feel compelled to ask him.

But wasn't this a strange time and place to have a conversation like this?

She was sitting beside him, practically naked, he was painfully aroused, or had been until she asked him that question, and she wanted to talk about his past sexual encounters, as disastrous as they'd been. He may be deficient regarding the nuances of romantic relationships but this seemed like a topic that should be taboo at a time like this.

Either way, she asked him and he owed her honesty. There were so many things he hadn't been honest with her about, that would likely come back to bite him in the ass, but he had his reasons for some of them.

But this he would be honest about.

"Yes," he finally answered as he looked back into her face. "I have engaged in intercourse with two women but neither encounter was wholly successful."

"What does that mean?"

Her fingers flexed gently against his thigh and it was meant to be an encouraging gesture but his shaft twitched again, surging of its own volition, and this time Paige acknowledged it by briefly looking down before her eyes met his again. Walter felt his face flush with embarrassment and then felt her release his thigh. She grasped his hand and entwined their fingers.

Walter cleared his throat. "It means that I did not exactly provide the women with a pleasurable experience," he admitted as he shifted uncomfortably.

Okay. Paige was pretty sure she interpreted his meaning correctly and wasn't altogether surprised. She filed the tidbit of information away for a moment.

"Did you enjoy it at least?"

She tightened her fingers around his when she felt him trying to pull his hand away.

"Are we really talking about this tonight? Here? Now?" he asked incredulously.

"Why not?" Paige released his fingers and rested her hands on his forearm.

"Because it's our wedding night," he replied with a frown.

"Yes," she agreed. "Well, technically, last night was our official wedding night. But we were on a plane and now we have the whole night ahead of us. There's nothing wrong with a little foreplay."

"If this is your idea of foreplay I worry about our compatibility."

She laughed as her fingers lightly brushed against his the skin of his arm. "Why?"

"Because I have no desire to ever hear about your previous experiences. Particularly any recent ones."

He made a face like he bit into something sour and Paige ignored his passive aggressive reference to her recent relationship with Tim. They did not need to go there.

"Fair enough," Paige conceded. "But will you please answer my question. I'm trying to understand you and your experience with sex."

Just having her this close to him was soothing much of the anxiety he'd had earlier. She had that effect on him. But it also served to jumble his normally clear brain. The heat from her body and the scent of her was distracting but Walter never wanted her to move away from him.

"What was the question again?"

Her lips curved knowingly. "Did you enjoy your previous encounters?"

"The physical release was satisfying," Walter admitted honestly. "But it was over quick."

"As in premature quick or-?" she let her question trail off and he smirked wryly.

"Not overly premature but quicker than I'm sure they wanted."

"Okay," she said softly and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips.

He shook his head to clear it. "What was that for?"

"Just because I felt like it." She rose up on her knees and lifted her leg over his thighs, resting her hands on both his shoulders for balance.

"Uh… Paige…. w-what are you doing?"

"I'm going to sit on your lap," she said simply as she adjusted her knees on both sides of his thighs.

"You're done asking intrusive questions?"

"For now." She grinned and leaned down to kiss his lips quickly. He attempted to keep her from breaking the kiss by leaning forward as she leaned back but she just tilted her head so their lips would part.

Walter grunted with displeasure and she laughed breathlessly. He reached for her and held her hips steady as she settled over him. Damn she felt good under his fingertips.

"I'm going to sit on your thighs, okay?" She asked permission and as she asked the question Walter realized exactly what she'd done. The entire time they were talking she was touching him in very casual and innocuous ways, settling and calming and soothing him.

How could this woman calm and excite him at the same time? And how did she know exactly how to do it without making it seem like she was doing anything at all?

His fingers flexed gently into the flesh of her hips, the silky material keeping them from touching her flesh. He suddenly hated the offending garment.

"You don't need to narrate everything you're planning to do or even ask permission."

"Oh I won't." she sat down and dropped her hands from his shoulders and grasped the front of his shirt. "Pretty quickly I'm just going to 'do' but we need to get situated."

Walter stilled as she wiggled a bit on his thighs and he gritted his teeth. Once she was settled she slipped both her hands into his hair and looked at him.

"That's better," she said with a warm smile.

"Yes it is," he agreed before he realized the words were out of his mouth.

Paige's fingernails gently scratched his scalp; a spot just above his right ear that he never knew existed, and it made him want to chatter like Ferret Bueller.

"Do you enjoy kissing me, Walter?"

"Yes," he breathed as his lips parted. All she had to do was touch him and everything vanished but her.

"Then just kiss me," she invited simply.

With no hesitation he leaned forward and captured her lips gently. Paige sighed softly as she pressed closer to him and Walter released her hips and wrapped his arms around her.

For several long minutes they just kissed softly. A slow gentle meeting of lips and tongues, caressing and tasting, as soft mewling sounds escaped Paige's lips.

She leaned into him and sighed into his mouth before he pulled his lips away and began a slow path along her cheek and down to her neck.

His tongue swirled over her skin and Paige arched her back and let her head fall backward as she trembled. The feel of his lips on her felt so good. She flexed her fingers in his hair and the moan against her throat was almost a groan, it was so low and deep.

Sooner than Paige expected, Walter tightened his grip on her, holding her flush against his chest. She pressed down and felt him hard and insistent between her thighs. She let her fingers crawl down his chest and she lifted his shirt in the front scraping her fingernails around his belly button.

Walter gasped and pulled his lips away from her.

She pressed her lips to his again. "Trust me," she murmured and he inhaled a shuddering breath.

She felt him surge beneath her and she gently rolled her hips pressing down on him a little more.

Paige swallowed his gasp as she reached for his hand and lifted it to her breast, still encased in the dark silk and lace. She placed his hand around her and squeezed gently, encouraging him, and his fingers flexed. His thumb brushed over her nipple and Paige felt the sensation all the way down to her clit.

Their lips parted and they both panted softly. Walter continued to caress her breast, his fingers memorizing the feel of the soft flesh and her every reaction to his touch.

Paige pressed her forehead to his. "I love the way you kiss me."

Walter growled low in his throat and leaned forward again, taking her lips in a kiss that made her eyes cross. She felt his hand leave her breast and rest on her shoulder where his fingers began toying with the strap of her negligee.

He tugged it down and the fabric fell away from her. He pulled back and looked down. His eyes darkened with desire so intense they looked black. His eyes drank in the sight of her pale flesh with the dusky nipple in the center. Paige watched his face, stunned by the intensity of his gaze. When he unconsciously licked his lips, she reached her own hand up and tugged her other strap down. The sheer material fell and pooled at her waist and Paige held her breath as she watched Walter swallow thickly before he reached both hands up and took her breasts in his palms.

His hands were shaking and Paige covered them with her own, caressing the backs of them to let him know she was enjoying it. His touch sent shivers of desire through her and her head fell back as her eyes fluttered closed.

How had this game gotten away from her? She was supposed to be touching him, but now he had his hands on her and Paige feared she might just melt into a puddle right there on his lap.

"Goddess."

Paige heard him murmur the word hoarsely and she lifted her head to look at him just as he leaned down and captured her nipple between his lips. He lifted her breasts and one hand caressed and massaged the soft flesh of one while he suckled her other.

Walter was sure he had died and gone to a heaven he didn't believe in. He swirled his tongue around her nipple and the rough pad of her areola as his lips tightened and released around the hard little bud.

Paige's body shook and she absolutely felt the sensation all the way down to her clit. She slid her hands in his hair and gripped it again as she arched her back, offering her body up to his ministrations.

Walter shuddered and switched breasts, this time using his thumb and forefinger to roll her wet nipple as he lapped the other with his tongue. He memorized and catalogued every inch of her he was able to; every shudder and tremble and moan and sigh.

Never in her life had Paige felt so worshiped.

She rose up and then leaned her face down so she could press her lips to his ear. "I love you," Paige breathed against his skin.

Walter tore his lips away as her words flowed through him and Paige grasped his cheeks and pulled his lips up to her again.

She kissed him long and soft and deep as she pressed her now naked breasts against his chest.

Walter frantically reached behind him and yanked his shirt up over his head, their mouths parting briefly, and tossed it away before he reached around her and pulled her flush against him again.

Their lips met and Walter groaned into her mouth when Paige's nipples pressed against his now bare skin.

Paige pushed up on her knees and lifted one off the mattress, moving it between his legs as she shoved her panties down her thighs, furious at herself now for even putting them on. It took a lot of shifting and balancing and maneuvering for her to get them off and Walter didn't help one iota.

His hands were too busy caressing and massaging her breasts again, as they swayed lightly from her motions, while his mouth kept following hers as she moved. Paige met his kisses eagerly as she straddled his thighs again and reached for the waistband of his pajama pants. Without thought Walter lifted his hips and she pushed the cotton down, freeing his now thick and very hard erection.

Walter frantically kicked the pants away as Paige wrapped her small hand around him and the sound that bubbled up from his chest was almost inhuman. She pressed her stomach against his, sitting down again, this time trapping his now freed shaft beneath her.

Walter gritted his teeth and pulled his mouth away as he felt the wet heat of her pressing down on him and Paige rolled her hips slowly forward and back, coating him with her arousal.

"This is going to be over before it starts," he growled as he gripped her hips, hard, in an attempt to still her movements.

"That's okay," Paige panted against his lips as she circled her hips slower, rising up just an inch so that his head could bump against her clit as she slid back.

"No it isn't," Walter choked even as he bucked his hips beneath her.

"It will take the edge off," Paige purred and brushed her lips over his chin.

"I already did that in the shower so this wouldn't happen." Walter held her down on him trying desperately to regain some sort of control over his body.

Paige grinned mischievously and let him stop her. "Are you telling me you masturbated in the shower, Walter?"

"Don't laugh at me." he frowned and stilled.

Paige brushed her lips along his cheek and as she panted softly. "I'm not laughing. I'm touched you would do that."

"I didn't want to orgasm too soon…. b-before you did," Walter admitted so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "A-and I knew the second you touched me it would be over."

She smiled, so incredibly pleased, and took his bottom lip between her teeth. She bit gently and he inhaled sharply.

Paige reached down between them again and wrapped her hand around him. "Trust me," she breathed as she stroked him from base to tip. "You don't have to hold yourself back from me, ever," she purred and Walter's eyes crossed and his hips lifted again, straining and throbbing and aching.

Paige stroked him several time and Walter's fingers flexed against the skin of her hips in a matching rhythm.

Finally she held him steady with one hand as she breathed into his mouth.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

He nodded his head vigorously but was unable to speak as he felt his other head breaching her entrance. She was so wet he wanted to groan but he feared if he let any sound out it would be a whimper.

Paige slowly lowered herself down on him, engulfing him as his eyes rolled back and his lids slipped closed.

If it were possible to turn inside out Walter was sure that was exactly what was happening to him at that moment.

Inch by inch Paige took him in and she gasped as her body stretched to accommodate him.

"What?" Walter asked with alarm, as his eyes snapped open, thinking he'd done something wrong.

She shook her head and kissed him softly as she smiled.

"It's just been a while. I just need a little time too."

Walter felt relief rush through him so fast and fierce all the breath left his body. If her body needed to adjust then it meant she and Tim hadn't been together and Walter wanted to weep with gratitude.

"Are you alright?" Paige asked as she stopped her descent.

He nodded quickly. "D-don't s-s-stop," he pleaded hoarsely. "I'm f-f-fine."

Paige held him, as his body shook, and she kissed him again, softer and deeper, to distract him as she took the last few inches of him inside her. Her thighs shook until she settled again, her bottom resting on his thighs, and then she relaxed.

Their lips parted but neither one pulled back, their breath mingling as she let her body adjust to the welcome intrusion and his body adjust to the sensation that she was sure was overwhelming him.

He clutched at her desperately and she caressed his cheeks.

"You f-feel so g-good," he stuttered as he pulled his lips away and breathed through his nose.

"I'm going to move now. Is that okay?" she asked her voice tight, the need to move becoming almost too much.

He nodded and his hands shook as he slid them around her and gripped her ass. Paige started rolling her hips forward and then back, making small circles over him and the motion caused him to slip in and out of her. His hips began to move with hers, rocking and rolling in tandem as she now pushed up slightly on her knees.

It took a while for them to find a rhythm that wasn't jagged and out of sync. But that didn't matter. The way he felt inside her was all that mattered.

Paige's body bathed Walter in wet heat. The length of his shaft slid along her clit with each thrust and she gasped softly each time she pushed down and, following her lead, he deliberately pumped his hips in a steady rhythm so that he gave her that sensation with each thrust. Her body gripped him and the feeling was like nothing Walter's eidetic memory was capable of recalling.

Paige rode him slowly at first, taking her time, and Walter reveled in every second of it. He would have gladly stayed in that very spot and that very position forever. He didn't need his citizenship, he didn't need Scorpion, he didn't need math or science; he only needed the woman in his arms, the woman whose body was wrapped around him, hot and wet and tight. The woman he loved.

Walter didn't know how much time passed. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, or it could have been days. But when Paige grasped one of his hands with hers, slid it down the front of her body and pressed his fingertips against her clit, he came back to himself and looked at her inquisitively.

"Please, Walter," she begged as she rolled her hips in wider circles now

"Show me how," he pleaded, not wanting to do it wrong, and she did, guiding his fingers over her swollen flesh, urging him to learn what felt good to her.

In a matter of a minute or two he'd taken over and Paige lifted her hand to his face again, cupping his cheek as she kissed him, her body trembling with pleasure.

Paige's thighs trembled around him and Walter started bucking harder beneath her. He could feel the telltale tingling starting in his testicles and he was determined to bring her to orgasm first. His fingers moved faster until she reached between them and pulled them away.

She bore down, grinding her clit against the base of his shaft and a strangled sound escaped Walter's lips. His eyes crossed as she tightened around him.

"Kiss me," she pleaded and he obliged her, taking her lips, first softly, and then more insistently as Walter lifted his fingers, now wet with her arousal, to her breast and rolled her nipple between them.

Paige hiccupped in his mouth as her body convulsed. She felt the pleasure begin where they were joined, in her clit, and then travel up into her belly. Her walls began to pulse, tightening and releasing and her head fell back and her orgasm was rolling over her in long waves that traveled from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.

Walter groaned unintelligibly against her throat as his entire body shuddered violently. Her body was gripping him, squeezing him, pulsing around his hard flesh.

Before his brain could catch up and he could comprehend what was happening, Walter bucked beneath her, once, twice, and, finally, a third time. He felt his orgasm slam into him and he erupted, spilling inside her as a sound resembling a sob escaped his lips.

Their bodies convulsed and jerked and Walter began to wonder if she'd ever stop pulsing around him. Not that he wanted her to; just the opposite, in fact. He was so overcome with love for her and he clutched her to him desperately.

Walter kept his face buried against her neck and his body continued to convulse beneath her, his shaft twitching and jerking inside her as he spent himself in her depths.

Paige dropped her head on his shoulder weak and trembling.

Walter shook in her arms and she could feel his warm breath as he panted against her throat.

Paige lifted his face so she could look into his eyes. Something she had never seen was now shining in them as he looked at her. It was awe, understanding, and a little bit of fear. But above it all she could see his love for her.

"Grá mo shaol," he murmured but before she could ask him what he said, Walter's lips captured hers.

And by the time he finished with her, after having brought her to orgasm twice more before he allowed himself release again, Paige wasn't able to form a coherent thought, never mind remember to ask.

* * *

"Grá mo shaol" is Gaelic for "love of my life."

Thanks again for reading and please leave a review if you feel so inclined.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion… do I have to keep saying that all time?**

So here is the rest of what was originally chapter 2. So when I said this story would be about a half dozen chapters I wasn't counting on splitting one of them into three. So this story will likely now be about 10 chapters when done.

So sometimes I think I'm psychic because the ending of this chapter was written before I watched the end of the last episode (it's just taken me a freaking week to get the rest of the chapter complete). Now I wonder which immigration chick is going to be more bad ass…. mine or the show's. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.

There will be another brief note at the end.

More smut ahead… ye have been warned.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Because You Want To – Chapter 4**

Whoever designed the uncomfortable metal chairs in airport terminals should have been fired from their job was the thought that once again entered Walter's mind when he shifted uncomfortably for the third time since sitting down at the Dublin Airport.

He was quietly working on his laptop assisting Sly remotely with an issue for Richard Elia while he and Paige waited for Ralph and Cabe's plane to land. As part of his agreement with Richard for his assistance in keeping Scorpion running in his absence, Walter agreed to be available remotely if needed. Fortunately this was the first time his assistance was needed because he had been rather busy recently becoming intimately acquainted with his new wife.

Walter was looking forward to seeing Ralph but he was also torn because he wasn't ready for anyone to intrude on his time, alone, with Paige. They'd been married one week and one day and Walter was still reveling in the reality and newness of it.

Eight days was the longest he'd gone without working on some kind of scientific or mathematic, intellectual, pursuit, except after his car crash on the cliff. But Walter hadn't missed it. He was too singularly focused on Paige and learning everything he didn't already know about her. And, although, he'd initially thought he knew her well after all this time, he quickly realized he selfishly failed to learn about her the way she had about him.

Walter looked up to see Paige standing twelve feet away, just outside the sundry store as she flipped through a magazine. Three hours had passed since he was inside her. Three hours and twenty four minutes, to be exact, since she came apart around him, sobbing his name as she acquiesced to his request to make her orgasm once more before they left their hotel room; a room they'd barely left since they arrived.

After barely coming up for air the first two days, Paige convinced him they needed to get dressed and out of the room for a little while so housekeeping could at least clean it. Their bed desperately needed new sheets and the number of towels that had piled up needed to be taken away, since Walter refused to remove the _Do Not Disturb_ sign and only called housekeeping once a day to hand off new ones through the door.

After that, Paige insisted they leave the room for a little while every day. They both wanted to wait for Ralph to join them before they did any significant sightseeing but Walter took Paige to a few places he knew Ralph wouldn't be interested in, as he wasn't, like the National Gallery of Ireland and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. But the genius endured both excursions for her sake and she thanked him in such a satisfying way when they returned from visiting the first museum that he offered to take her there again the next day.

She only laughed seductively at his suggestion before she dragged him back to bed.

Walter let his eyes rake over Paige, standing there in her short skirt, completely unaware of his perusal, or the thoughts he was having about her. He shifted in the chair as his groin tightened as he was reminded of those long, glorious, legs wrapped around him, pulling him deeper inside her.

It was disconcerting, to say the least, to be so obsessed over something so…. carnal. Walter's physical needs had always taken a back seat to his intellectual. He often would forget to eat or even sleep when he was focused on a project. He'd always been singularly obsessive about science and math but those were logical. There was _nothing_ logical about his inability, for the last eight days, to focus on anything but his new wife and his unrelenting desire for her now that he'd had her. But as Paige leaned forward slightly to drop the magazine back on the rack toward the bottom, and her skirt rode up the back of her thighs, Walter momentarily forgot that science and math even existed.

"Walter, did you hear me?" Sly asked through the computer's speakers.

"Huh?" Walter said as he looked back at the computer on his lap, which fortunately was hiding his body's physical reaction to his perusal of his wife.

"I guess not," the mathematician chuckled. "What were you looking at anyway?"

"N-nothing," Walter said as he got back to his work. "Where were we?"

Several minutes later he felt Paige sit down next to him and he caught sight of her crossing her legs out of his periphery. He swallowed but kept his eyes on the lines of code he was trying to find the error in.

"The plane just landed and is taxiing across the tarmac now."

Walter swallowed and nodded his head. "We have approximately fifteen minutes before they'll exit the plane and clear customs."

"Okay," she said as she reached up and slid one hand through her hair. The diamond ring she wasn't quite yet used to wearing caught in the strands and she winced as she tugged it out.

"Hey Paige," Sylvester waved through the computer. His image was a small square in the upper left hand corner of the screen while the document Walter was working on was down on the left.

"Hi Sly," she said as she smiled at him. "I hope Ralph behaved for you and Cabe."

"Yeah, we had a great time," Sly gushed but then jumped in his chair. "Oh! What the-"

Paige's brow furrowed in concern. "Sly, are you alright?"

Ferret Bueller's face suddenly appeared in front of the camera and he chattered excitedly as he pawed the screen.

"Yes," the mathematician huffed with annoyance. "But apparently Ferret Bueller heard your voice and decided to climb up my leg to get to you."

Walter frowned as the ferret kept chattering and pacing excitedly on Sylvester's keyboard.

"I'm sorry, Sly," Paige chuckled as she reached toward the screen with her finger and Ferret Bueller tried to grab at it. "Hi Bueller," she cooed at him and Walter glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You encourage his obsession with you, you know," Walter muttered and Paige laughed. She pulled her hand away from the screen and fluttered her fingernails over the top of his hand before she rested her hand in her lap. The genius shuddered as her touch left a warm tingle over his skin.

"Uh, it feels like he might have broken the skin," Sly said anxiously. "He's had all his shots, right? I better go look at this, I'll be right back I need to get some Neosporin."

"Relax, Sly," Toby dropped down in the chair Sylvester vacated, lifting the ferret off the keyboard and setting him on the desk beside it. "The new Mrs. O'Brien makes sure we all get our annual shots these days."

Walter chuckled and Paige elbowed him in the side gently.

"Well, hello there newlyweds," Toby drawled as he tipped his hat. "How's the honeymoon?" he asked, his voice innocent but his eyes anything but.

Ferret Bueller scurried onto the keyboard chattering and pawing at the screen again.

"As you can see you are clearly missed around here. Or at least the better half of you is anyway."

Walter closed the file he was working on and enlarged the window with the behaviorist.

"Don't you have something to do, Toby, or am I continuing to pay you to sit around and make jokes at my expense."

"You're paying me to sit around and make jokes at your expense, of course," Toby replied as he sat back in the chair.

Ferret Bueller was rubbing his head on the screen and Paige reached out again to pretend to rub it. The sight of her wedding rings caught Walter's eye and, although he'd always believed tokens and talismans such as rings were meaningless, he'd begun to amend his position on the matter. He enjoyed seeing his rings on her and hers on him. His wedding ring had felt odd and heavy for the first couple of days but now it felt like it had always been there.

"Why are you encouraging him?" Walter asked as he pulled Paige's hand away but kept it tucked in his as he brought them both back to her thigh. He used the opportunity to touch her bare skin as he rested it there.

"Who? Toby?" Paige joked as she turned her hand up so their palms were touching.

Ferret Bueller chattered louder and the sound of his small claws scratching Sylvester's monitor made Walter cringe.

"Hey, now, fella," Toby scolded gently. "Take it easy there." Toby tucked the animal in the crook of his arm and he grinned into the camera again as his eyes slid toward Paige's direction. "You look well, Mrs. O'Brien. I take it your hubby is taking good care of you."

"Stop harassing them," Happy's voice came from somewhere beside Sly's desk then her hand entered the frame and she took the ferret from Toby. The animal screeched and Happy cursed under her breath.

"Jesus, Bueller, she'll be back. Quit having a melt down!"

"Maybe you should give him some food," Sly suggested from somewhere in the distance.

"I'm not harassing them," Toby defended as he sat forward again with an impish grin. "I'm just paying the lovely Mrs. O'Brien a compliment by telling her she looks well fu-"

"Toby!" Paige squealed his name as her eyes widened and Walter simultaneously growled his name followed quickly by an expletive the genius very rarely used.

"Ooopmh!" Toby's head snapped forward as Happy's hand came into the frame, again, and slapped him on the back of the head. But Walter slammed the laptop closed, not waiting for the fallout that would clearly happen on the other end.

"He is such a child sometimes," Paige shook her head with disgust but she was long used to the behaviorist's inappropriate teasing. Although he was rarely crude like that, she had already decided she needed to brace for what would surely be major teasing whenever she and Walter returned to the US. "Were you and Sly finished?"

Walter shoved his computer into his bag. "For now. I'll text him and let him know we can finish it later." He looked over at her and hesitated before he spoke. "He's obnoxious and crude and inappropriate…. but Toby's right though. You look lovely."

She tilted her head before leaning toward him to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"He's right about the other too. I am well fu-"

Walter stood up abruptly. "Uh...w-we should head to the customs exit."

Paige chuckled softly as she rose to her feet, knowing it wasn't nice of her to tease him like that but she couldn't help it. He was just too cute when he was flustered.

But the truth of it was….. she was a very well fucked woman. In both a good and bad way.

After his initial hesitation and awkwardness their first night, Walter threw himself into the new aspect of their relationship with the same enthusiasm and focus he did with all his new projects. The genius was relentless. She was certainly enjoying the benefits and the attention he was giving her but she was beginning to wonder just how much pleasure her body was capable of taking.

And as much as she loved Walter and loved being intimate with him, it was all a bit overwhelming. And, truth be told, she was a little relieved Ralph was arriving today because she was exhausted.

Paige slid her hand into his elbow as she gushed with excitement. "I can't wait to see Ralph. I've missed my baby."

"Me too," he agreed and patted her hand gently as they came to stop in front of the exit gates where Ralph and Cabe would soon clear customs.

While they waited, Walter pulled out his phone and sent his text to Sly. Paige stepped closer to him, nuzzling his cheek, inhaling the scent of him, for no particular reason other than she just wanted to. Sometimes she loved to just breathe him in, filling all her senses with him, and he seemed to enjoy it when she did it. The way his fingers clenched into the fabric of her skirt told her he was just as affected as she was and she knew she needed to stop. When she started to step back she he heard the low growl in his chest.

He'd begun making the low noise, initially, when she started touching him more, after his accident and their admission of attraction but long before they were ever together. She didn't notice at first but it became more obvious after the disastrous trip to Tahoe. She just thought that was him being childish because she was with Tim.

But when they were preparing for their wedding he started making the noise each time they were alone and she would get close to him. Those were the times he would usually end up kissing her senseless but once she was in his arms and he was kissing her, the sounds morphed into moans or low groans that had a very different tenor.

Once they'd become intimate the sound started escaping him more regularly, particularly when she reached for him with the intention of pleasuring him orally. The sounds that emanated from him when she had him in her mouth, and she was teasing him mercilessly with her tongue, were like nothing Paige had ever heard.

A slight shiver flowed through her at the thought of the things the sound did to _her_ body. To know she could bring that out of him, a man who was usually so logical and controlled most of the time, was very heady and satisfying and it made Paige ache to do whatever it took to make him make the sound.

But Paige realized her thoughts were going down a road that would not have its destination reached any time soon because they would now be sharing a room with her eleven year old son. And that thought, right there, doused her libido like water on fire.

Walter felt the sound bubbling up from his chest as she nuzzled him. She knew he was averse, as a general rule, to public displays of affection. He didn't kiss her in public and rarely even touched her in public. His one slip up, when he succumbed to his desire and kissed her senseless on the flight to Ireland, was a fluke.

But Walter found it was becoming more difficult to _not_ touch her. It always annoyed him when couples would paw each other in public. It was obnoxious and inappropriate and he couldn't imagine he would ever want to touch a woman intimately, at all, but particularly in public.

But Paige had always been tactile and expecting her to change wasn't realistic. And he would never be truly comfortable with touching her in public, especially now that he was so used to touching her in private, and he found that was the only way he wanted to have his hands on her.

But he supposed they just needed to find a balance

"Mom," Walter heard the young genius' voice and he reluctantly stepped back from Paige, in barely enough time for her to bolt around him and rush to the boy who was running up to her. She wrapped her arms around him and he circled his arms around her waist as she hugged him.

He always enjoyed watching Paige and Ralph interact but Walter found he had a small lump in his throat at the sight. This was his family now. Granted they were part of his family before he married Paige but now it was different. Now it wouldn't be easy for her to leave if he screwed up.

Paige hugged and kissed her son more than was probably appropriate, considering their location and his age, and definitely more than the young boy would have liked, but he endured his mother's attentions. He looked over at Walter helplessly and the genius winked at him.

"Hey, kid," Cabe greeted as he walked up. Walter shook his hand.

"How was the flight?"

"It was so cool," Ralph replied before Cable could respond as he squirmed away from his mom and walked over to Walter. The two high fived as Paige greeted Cabe with a quick hug.

"You look good, kiddo," he said and Paige laughed as Walter choked out a strangled cough.

"What's so funny?" he asked as her looked back and forth between them.

"Nothing," Paige responded as she slipped her arm into his and led him toward baggage claim while her two geniuses caught up behind them.

##########

The next morning Paige and Ralph headed to the Trinity College Library to see the Book of Kells while Walter dropped Cabe back at the airport. As he stopped the rental car at the curb, Cabe turned to him and slapped him on the shoulder.

"You look happy, kid. Happier than I've ever seen you."

"I'm extremely pleased with my life at the moment," Walter replied honestly. The truth was Walter was more than pleased. His life had taken a turn he had never expected it to, but he wouldn't change anything about how he got here.

"So, I didn't mention this earlier but I saw Tim before I left."

Except that.

"Hmmmm," Walter grunted as he twisted his wedding ring around his finger.

"He's asked to be transferred out of Scorpion."

"Hmmmm," Walter grunted again. "Pity." He knew he must sound petulant and childish but he didn't care.

"Walter, grow up," Cabe replied as he checked the front pocket of his shirt to make sure his ticket was there. "She married you."

"Only because she had to."

The words slipped out before Walter's verbal filter, which was getting better in recent years, kicked in.

"Paige didn't have to do anything."

Walter bit his lip. "She'd still be with him if I hadn't been in danger of being deported."

And that right there was the crux of a still periodic and fleeting feeling he couldn't shake. For the week they were alone he had been able to block it out. But last night, because Ralph shared a room with them, he slept beside Paige fully clothed for the first time since they arrived. This morning was the first morning they hadn't engaged in intercourse after waking. In fact it had been twenty five hours, forty eight minutes and thirteen seconds since he'd come inside her and as illogical as the sensation was Walter felt like he might just crawl out of his skin if he couldn't touch hers soon.

"You don't know that," Cabe insisted.

"Neither do you." Walter gripped the steering wheel with both hands so tight his fingers began turning white.

"She loves you, son. I already told you, you have to trust in that. And whether Tim stayed or not, Paige has committed her life to you. That's not something to distrust."

"I know. I know," Walter muttered twice, for emphasis, but even to him it sounded like he was simply trying to convince himself.

Cabe reached for the handle of the door. "Well I'll see you in a couple of weeks hopefully."

"No you won't," Walter said as he shook his head negatively. "We're going to travel all summer even if they'll allow me back in sooner." Off Cabe's confused look Walter continued. "This may be the only time we'll be able to take Ralph traveling like this and Paige wants to make the most of it. We've purchased Eurail passes and I'm working on an itinerary for the most educational places for Ralph to see."

"I think that's a good idea." Cabe exited the car and then leaned back in the window. "But don't do too much 'educational'. Find some fun things to take him to. Yes, he's very much like you, Walt, but you have to remember how much of Paige he has in him. And he's just a kid even though his IQ is higher than yours."

"Real nice, Cabe," Walter replied drolly and the older man just laughed. But Walter made a mental note to relook at the itinerary he was working on last night after Paige and Ralph fell asleep.

"Have you had anyone from USCIS approach you yet?"

Walter shook his head, not wanting to divulge just how little time he and Paige had spent in public. The agent didn't need to know how depraved Walter had become since his wife had introduced him to the pleasures of the flesh.

"I felt like someone was watching us last night during dinner," Cabe said with a frown. "But I couldn't make out anyone in the crowd. Then again they're trained to blend in almost as well as the CIA."

"Great," Walter said sardonically.

"Don't forget. Be diligent, kid." Cabe stood up and slapped his hand on the edge of the door. "Now go enjoy your family."

#########

For the next week, Walter and Paige took Ralph around Dublin and then down the east and southern coast of Ireland. The small family visited the Natural History Museum, the Blackrock Robotic Observatory, the Schull Planeterium, the Bir Telescope and Science Museum, the Ailwee Cave, and Newgrange.

While Paige indulged their need for intellectual and scientific options, when they visited Waterford, which was the oldest city in all of Ireland, founded in 914 AD by Vikings, Paige insisted on stopping at the House of Waterford Crystal so she could purchase a nice set of crystal wine glasses. Walter didn't understand the need since he didn't drink alcohol but Paige often enjoyed a glass of wine at night and she wanted a nice set of glasses. Walter and Ralph just shrugged and let her browse the shop for far longer than was logically necessary to cover the square footage.

The two geniuses also indulged her when they visited Blarney Castle and Gardens. While they were interested in the historical and botanical aspect of the site, Paige was just interested in kissing the Blarney Stone. She teased Walter about his lack of communication skills and dared him to kiss it as well. He adamantly refused, as did Ralph, but Paige marched herself right up to the top parapet of the castle and hung upside down with no hesitation or fear.

When she attempted to kiss Walter a short time later when they were tucked away in the Rock Close, he nearly tripped as he jumped away from her, again refusing until she washed her mouth, telling her he desired to kiss only her and not the hundreds of thousands of other people who kissed the rock before her. She just laughed and grabbed his face, kissing him fiercely. And it took less than thirty seconds before he surrendered and responded so enthusiastically that neither of them came up for air until long after he had her pressed intimately against the rock wall at the bottom of the Wishing Steps.

Ralph gagged and walked away, telling them to catch up with him when they got the kissing out of their system.

By the time they reached the Ring of Kerry Walter was convinced that there was something alive and crawling under his skin. He was waking up wrapped around Paige like a vine, his erection pressing insistently into her bottom, every morning. As soon as she was awake she would wriggle away from him, leaving Walter not only bereft but throbbing and hard with no way to alleviate the problem until he was in the shower.

Ralph was an early riser, which was a common trait among geniuses, so Walter had to make sure he was out of bed before the boy could wake and see that his step-father had a raging erection.

For economic, as well as logistical reasons, the three of them shared one room at all the bed and breakfasts where they stayed. There was only one more day until they reached Shannon, where Walter was planning to suggest perhaps it might be fun for Ralph to have his own room for a night.

But by some miracle, something Walter would normally scoff as being illogical, when they arrived at their bed and breakfast for the night, Ralph asked if he could have his own room.

"Ralph, honey," Paige said as she slid her fingers through his hair. "It will cost twice as much for that."

"That's okay," Walter blurted out willing to pay whatever it cost to just have Paige to himself for one night.

Paige shot Walter a quizzical look before she turned back to her son.

"Besides, you're still a little too young to stay in a room by yourself," she continued quietly.

"Come on, mom. Just one night. Please?" He pleaded. "No offense but we're spending all our time together and it would be nice to have a little privacy."

"That's logical," Walter added attempting to keep the tone of his voice neutral. But was it always that high pitched?

"Exactly," Ralph agreed. "And I'd really like some time to myself."

Paige frowned and Walter could see the slight hint of distress in her eyes. The one she usually shielded and hid quickly when Ralph said or did something that hurt her. The boy didn't mean to do it, it was just a byproduct of his genius, and logically Paige knew it but she tended to react emotionally first before her logic kicked in. It was the complete opposite approach that her son and, now, husband took.

"Walter, it's a waste of money to pay for two rooms," she insisted quietly.

The owner of the bed and breakfast was an older woman with grey hair and gentle eyes and she gave Paige a sympathetic look. "I have one of the smaller rooms that hasn't been rented yet. It's across from the one you're taking and at the end of the hall. I assure you, your son is perfectly safe in our home. I'll give you the room for half price considering the time and it's unlikely I'll be able to rent it to someone else tonight."

"Please, mom?' Ralph pleaded again. "Just one night."

Paige sighed, unable to deny him when he looked up at her like that.

"Okay," she conceded and Ralph pumped his fist.

"Yes!"

Walter wanted to pump his own fist but decided the best course of action was to remain silent.

"But," Paige said to get her son's attention again and the young genius looked up at her. "Don't think this is going to become a regular thing, okay. We have a long summer ahead of us and we're going to need to be mindful of expenses."

"Agreed." Ralph nodded his head eagerly and she knew he was only doing it to placate her but he reached for her and hugged her around the waist.

"Thanks mom."

Paige closed her eyes and reveled in her son's embrace. "Don't thank me," she said knowingly. "Walter's the one paying for this."

Ralph pulled away and rushed at Walter, hugging him around the waist too, surprising the genius.

"Thanks, Walter."

Paige smiled softly as Walter shot her a surprised look but he recovered quickly and patted Ralph on the shoulder affectionately before he and young genius high fived.

"You have a lovely family," the woman said from beside her and Paige nodded her head in agreement.

##########

An hour later, Walter sat on the bed in their room, after having said goodnight to Ralph before Paige took him across the hall. The genius was surfing the internet looking for houses or apartments for rent in several of the cities they would be visiting once they arrived in Europe.

They planned to first spend a week in London, before moving on to Paris and then Rome, among other large cities across Europe, and he couldn't believe he hadn't come up with the idea earlier.

Of course Ralph's IQ was slightly higher than his, but even if it wasn't Walter would think the boy was absolutely brilliant.

Instead of staying in hotels or AirBNB in those cities, which Walter had originally planned, renting two bedroom apartments in places they planned to stay more than three nights would be more logical, cost effective and allow him and Paige to have some time to be intimate. Walter reached down and pressed the heel of his hand against his shaft, which was already semi firm with just the thought that Paige should be returning to the room momentarily. He glanced at the clock and wondered what was taking her so long.

He'd already found places in Paris, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Milan. He was just starting a search for Berlin when the door opened. He looked up as Paige came through and pulled it closed behind her, flipping the lock. Walter watched as she walked slowly and silently toward the bed, toward him, as she dropped piece after piece of clothing in her wake.

First she lifted her shirt and tossed it somewhere off to the right. Walter had no interest in where the offending material went and he tossed his tablet onto the bedside table, completely oblivious as it fell to the carpeted floor with a thud.

Walter licked his suddenly dry lips as Paige removed her bra and let it fall from her fingers before the digits slipped the button of her shorts open. Just as she reached the end of the bed she pushed both her shorts and panties down her legs before climbing onto the mattress. She crawled over him, still without a word and Walter swallowed thickly, mesmerized by the goddess in front of him.

The look in her eyes told him she was feeling exactly how he was and before one more thought could pass through his mind she was straddling his waist and her lips were on his. Without preamble Walter rose to his knees and pushed her onto her back. He slid his right hand down the side of her body as he settled between her thighs and proceeded to devour her.

"Off," she mumbled into his mouth as her hands frantically shoved at his pajama pants. "God, why did you even put these on?" she growled as she bit his bottom lip.

Walter grunted as they wiggled and writhed, both trying to keep their lips from parting, as he also shoved at his pants. The fabric had barely reached his knees when he grasped her hands and pushed them up beside her head. Paige wrapped her legs around his hips and arched her back, lifting to meet him as he pressed down and pushed inside her. He swallowed her brief squeak at the rushed intrusion before it morphed into a moan.

Their kiss deepened as he began to move, pumping and thrusting his hips as he buried his shaft deep inside her. There was no finesse to this act. No tenderness. It was a frenzied joining of two people who were desperate for each other.

It took several thrusts and some shimmying down the mattress for them to find their rhythm but they got there. Each time they did this, it took less time, as their bodies became more familiar with each other. But it had been almost a week since they'd been intimate and Paige was wound so tight and so desperate for Walter she thought she might lose her mind.

"Walter," she moaned as she lifted her hips, rolling them beneath him in the practiced rhythm that they had already begun to perfect. "Let me touch you," she pleaded and he tore his lips away.

"No," he growled as his lips slid over her cheek to her ear.

She choked out a surprised laugh. "Please, Walter, I want to touch you," she pleaded.

"I can't think when you're touching me," he growled against her neck as he swirled his tongue over her pulse point before sucking the soft skin just beneath her ear. He continued to move inside her, pumping, thrusting, plunging, over and over, and the sensation had his entire body feeling like it was on fire.

Paige turned her head and nipped his ear and whispered seductively. "That's the whole point."

"Goddess," he choked out gutturally and unable to deny her, Walter released one of her hands and slid one of his down her body and under her ass. Paige immediately wrapped her arm around him and scratched her fingers not so lightly down his back. Walter's body jerked and shuddered and he pressed his fingers into the soft flesh of her right cheek and he plunged into her again.

It was over in only a few minutes, a quick frenetic release. Paige whimpered against his cheek as her body convulsed beneath him. He followed almost immediately, erupting in a violent burst before collapsing on her as he panted harshly against her neck.

Paige struggled to catch her breath. "God, I needed that," she breathed out a sigh after a few minutes and lifted her head to press a kiss to the skin between his neck and shoulder.

Walter grinned against her ear and laughed along with her, glad he wasn't the only one.

"I love my son more than life but I think he's going to need his own room every couple of days for the rest of this trip. Cost be damned."

Walter growled his agreement against her neck.

Paige ran her hands up and down his back over his t-shirt as his lips and nose softly caressed her throat. The scent of her was so intoxicating and as Walter inhaled his nostrils were assaulted with the scent of her shampoo, her perfume, and sex. It was a heady combination.

It wasn't long before Paige arched her back and Walter hissed as the motion caused her to tighten around him. He growled before pushing up on his hands, pulling out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she pushed up on her elbows her brow furrowing in confusion.

He shoved his pajama pants the rest of the way down his legs and kicked them off before tearing his shirt over his head.

Her confusion morphed into approval and her lips curved into a sultry grin. Paige scrambled to her knees and pushed him on to his back as she settled on her stomach between his thighs.

As she licked her lips seductively, the now familiar, guttural, growl made its way up and out of Walter's chest and Paige let the sound encourage her as she wrapped her lips around him.

#########

Five nights later, after making their way north of Shannon into Galway and Connemara, then east again, the family was back in Dublin. Walter had neglected to tell his parents that he, Paige and Ralph were coming to Ireland, or even of his immigration woes. And the elder O'Brien's had left for Greece the day before Walter and Paige, initially, arrived in the country, where they boarded a two week Mediterranean cruise; something his mother had dreamed of her whole life.

After Paige admonished him, she made him rearrange their itinerary so they could visit with his parents before they left Ireland. Walter insisted it was inefficient to change any part of their plans but even Ralph agreed with his mother so Walter relented.

So now they were briefly back in Dublin because Ralph wanted to visit the Natural History Museum one more time. They were picking Walter's parents up at the airport the following morning and then travelling to Callan to visit for the weekend.

After an early dinner Paige insisted they go back to their hotel and get a good night's sleep. Walter and Ralph complained, in stereo, but the liaison would not be deterred.

Ralph once again begged to have his own room and Paige initially refused because of the sheer size of the city hotel where they were staying. But when the hotel was able to give him an adjoining room, she relented.

Of course none of them ended up getting to bed early, partially because Walter and Ralph started a chess game that neither one of them wanted to concede. But when Paige let her fingertips ghost over the back of his neck on her way to the bathroom, Walter let Ralph corner him in check mate in only two more moves.

After Paige tucked Ralph in for the night she returned to their room and found Walter had forgone his pajama pants this time. Now, almost an hour later, she was flat on her back in the middle of the bed with her husband's head buried between her thighs.

"Walter," she moaned louder than she normally would but the walls of the ancient, castle, hotel were thick and even if Ralph was still awake she doubted he could hear her. Her breath started coming in short gasps as Walter's fingers spread her wider, his tongue flicking faster over her clit before he wrapped his lips around it, sucking and lapping the little bud the way he knew she liked.

Paige reached down and thrust her fingers into his short hair, tugging on the curly strands as she bucked against his face.

Walter grunted in pain but he refused to stop until she came apart on his tongue. Paige's thighs began to tremble around his head and that was her telltale sign she was about to orgasm, so Walter sped up the flicking of his tongue and tightened his lips around her until she cried out his name as her body convulsed in long intense waves.

Paige felt the pleasure start right where Walter's tongue was lashing at her and it spread outward from there until she felt the tingling in every last inch of her body, from the top of her head to deep in her nipples to the tips of her toes. She continued to convulse and jerk, wriggling and writhing on the mattress before finally pushing his head away when the sensation became too much on her tender flesh.

Walter slipped his tongue lower and thrust his tongue inside her, lapping gently, as her orgasm coated his tongue. He swept his tongue against her, meticulously avoiding her clit now, knowing how incredibly sensitive she was after her orgasm.

Paige released his hair and her thighs fell open limply. Walter wiped his mouth on the inside of her thigh before he pushed up on his hands, grinning, exceedingly proud of himself. She barely had the strength to lift her head but she looked down at him and gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

He began crawling up her body, leaning over and kissing a soft, wet path over her heated skin. His tongue swirled over her abdomen and around her belly button, causing Paige to giggle quietly before it morphed into a sigh of his name.

"Walter."

His tongue traced the very faint lines that remained from when she carried Ralph inside her womb over a decade ago. He found both the sight and dimpled feel of them always caused a wave of gratitude to overwhelm him because if she had not given birth to that gifted child Walter, very likely, would have never met her. And that thought was _unfathomable_ to him.

Paige shuddered as his lips continued to ascend her body, brushing lightly, as he tasted the salt from her sweat. He reached the underside of her breast and slid his tongue along the seam then up and over until he reached her nipple.

Paige moaned softly as he suckled her. She had been pleasantly surprised to learn Walter was a breast man. He spent an inordinate amount of time worshiping her breasts and, under his ministrations, Paige discovered, the night before Ralph flew in, that she could actually orgasm from stimulation to her breasts alone, giving her husband yet one more thing to be smug and arrogant about.

Walters's mouth continued to tease and torment Paige, lapping and suckling first one, then the other, breast, until her body was ripe and ready for him again.

He grinned again as he looked down at her, sloe eyed and sated and so beautiful that it hurt, as illogical as that was, and Walter was, once again, awed that she was his wife. Awe was not an emotion Walter experienced often but it happened more and more since the day Paige walked in to his life.

Paige reached up and pulled his lips to her and he wasted no further time before he sank into her, his eyes rolling back at the warm, tight, wet sensation as she surrounded him. He would never tire of this and Walter marveled at how he'd ever lived his life without it and her.

Paige moaned long and low into his mouth, tasting herself on his lips, as he kissed her. She loved kissing him, especially after he went down on her, and she reveled in how much he seemed to love kissing her too. She tightened her arms and legs around him as he began to move slowly, slipping deeper with each thrust of his hips.

Walter decided that whoever determined the missionary position was boring and rote was a fool. While he certainly enjoyed when Paige was on top, there was nothing he loved more than having her beneath him. It wasn't because he wanted to be in control. He had quickly learned in the short time since she became his wife that control was an illusion he would now only have in his mind. But he could deny her nothing. That had been the case before they were together but now…. now that she loved him he would do anything necessary not to lose her.

But the primary reason he enjoyed being on top was because when she was beneath him he could watch her orgasm. When she rode him she often bowed backward as she pressed down on him and he couldn't see her face.

He hated that.

But as he hovered over her his eyes could soak in everything about her, her face and every expression that crossed it. In addition to hearing them, he could watch as every moan, gasp, whimper and sigh passed her lips and he would never tire of seeing what his touch did to her. He loved watching the way her eyes scrunched up and then rolled back in her head as her orgasm rolled over her and if his lips weren't on hers she would sink her teeth into her bottom lip, once even drawing blood when she struggled to hold back the sob of pleasure that overwhelmed her.

Walter pumped slowly wanting to savor the feeling of her around him. She was always so tight after she orgasmed and it made his eyes want to cross.

Paige slid her hands up into his hair again as their kisses lengthened and deepened but just as they were truly getting into a rhythm a loud banging on the door startled them both.

Walter tore his lips away from hers as Paige froze beneath him, her thighs tightening around his hips as she looked up at him with alarm.

"What the hell?" Walter growled as Paige started to squirm under him, trying to push him off her.

"Oh, god, that can't be Ralph, he's asleep," she said frantically as another loud bang echoed in the room.

"Ralph doesn't knock like a battering ram, besides that's the hallway door," Walter grunted as he regretfully pulled out of her and pushed off the bed.

Paige sat up and yanked the sheets up to cover her naked body.

"Don't open the door. We should call the front desk or the police," Paige said worriedly as Walter grabbed a hotel robe from the closet and tied it around his body.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien open the door please," came a loud male voice from the hallway and Paige and Walter looked at each other.

"Oh my god," Paige gasped again. "How do they know who we are? What about Ralph?"

Paige's panicked eyes snapped to the door that adjoined the two rooms and she scrambled to stand as Walter called through the door.

"Who is it?" he asked as he looked through the peep hole.

"United States Citizenship and Immigration Services."

###########

"Put that on," Walter barked as he grabbed another robe from the closet and tossed it to her.

Paige yanked the robe around her body. "It's almost midnight, Walter. What are they doing here?"

"Unannounced visits are to be expected," he stated obviously and she glared at him.

"But at midnight?"

"Cabe warned me they might get intrusive but this is unacceptable." Walter pursed his lips and grunted his answer as Paige finished tying her robe closed.

"What do you mean Cabe warned you?" Paige almost screeched and Walter cringed as he realized he forgot to mention either of his conversations with Cabe to her.

In his defense, he'd been a bit distracted but as his wife narrowed her eyes at him, Walter realized that kind of explanation made no difference when a man was dead.

Another loud pounding echoed into the room. "Mr. & Mrs. O'Brien, please open the door. We can do this here or we can take you down to Homeland's offices."

"Walter, open the door, Paige snapped angrily. "We don't need the rest of the hotel knowing our business."

Walter unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien," a man about Cabe's age said. He held up a USCIS identification badge. Beside him stood a woman who looked only slightly older than Walter and Paige. "I'm Agent Greene and this Agent Willis. May we come in?"

"Do we have a choice?" Walter asked with a scowl.

The woman smirked as she stepped around Walter and into the room. She gave the room a once over, taking in the tousled couple and bed, before she her eyes slid past Paige toward the bathroom.

The liaison's dislike of this woman was instantaneous and that never happened to Paige. But something told her this woman was going to cause both her and Walter tremendous trouble.

Walter closed the door behind the Agent Greene.

"So what were the two of you up to this evening?" Agent Willis finally asked as she looked at Walter with a knowing smirk. Paige looked over and noticed his hair was sticking up in every conceivable direction from when she was tugging on it.

"Does our disheveled appearance not tell you?" Paige asked as her eyes returned to Agent Willis and she crossed her arms defensively.

"Is that why you put your son in a separate room for the evening? You normally only rent one room," Agent Greene asked casually as he also looked around the room. But where Agent Willis seemed indifferent to what she saw, Agent Greene has an odd gleam in his eyes.

And it was creepy.

Walter clenched his teeth and Paige wondered if he had the same vibe as her. But one thing was unmistakable. They were clearly being watched very closely. And although she knew it would happen it still pissed her off.

"Well excuse me for having an aversion to being intimate with my husband with my son less than four feet away," Paige replied impudently.

Walter stepped closer, in an attempt to soothe her, but when she cringed and stepped back Walter knew he was in more trouble than he initially thought.

"Doesn't this kind of scrutiny fall under invasion of privacy?" Walter asked as he frowned. "Intruding at this time of night must violate our rights."

"You have no right to privacy in this situation, Mr. O'Brien. You need to get used to that?" Agent Willis said as she walked over to the closet and pulled the door open.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked as her arms fell in shock at the woman's nerve.

"Just making sure you're staying in this room with him."

"Where else would I be?" Paige asked incredulously.

"You could be sharing with your son while Mr. O'Brien takes this room alone," Agent Greene replied nonchalantly. "It must be difficult to be intimate when you have your son on your honeymoon like this. That is quite unusual and I'm sure it limits the opportunity for sex."

Agent's Greene's insinuation was crystal clear and Paige had enough. Screw Homeland and USCIS.

"You know what?" Paige replied in a tone Walter recognized instantly. She was about to kick some ass and he couldn't hide the smirk that was forming on his lips.

"I don't care who you are or what kind of rights you have to harass us. But it's almost midnight and this is highly inappropriate. Now unless you are prepared to haul us both away by force, I would like you to leave now. If you want to interview us come back in the morning."

Agent Willis turned from poking her head into the bathroom and gave Page a long look before she nodded imperceptibly. Another smirk curled on the woman's lips and Paige wanted to slap it off.

"Very well,' Agent Willis acquiesced. "We've seen what we need to. But we will be back at 7am in the morning."

"We'll be sure to leave be bed unmade so you can inspect the wet spot," Paige said scathingly and Walter coughed into his hand. Toby was apparently rubbing off on her.

Agent Greene snorted quietly and Agent Willis glared at him.

"Goodnight, Mr. & Mrs. O'Brien," the woman replied and the two agents walked out.

Walter closed the door behind him, locking it, before turning around to face his wife. Her anger was radiating off her in a way he'd only seen once before. When she discovered what he'd done in Tahoe.

"I'm sorry, Paige. I should have told you about them."

He stepped toward her again and she stepped back as she held up her hand.

"Yes you should have," she replied in a low voice. "How long have they been following us?"

Walter frowned as she held him at bay again. "I don't know for sure but most likely since we arrived in Ireland."

Paige took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. It didn't work.

"And you didn't think you should tell me about them?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to," Walter replied honestly.

"And you thought a better scenario would be for me to be shocked when they just show up when we're in the middle of-" Paige took another deep breath before she said anything crude. "Walter, you can't keep things like this from me."

"I didn't want to upset you." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robe because his fingers were aching to reach for her but he knew she'd reject him at that moment. He knew that as well as he knew the theory of quantum physics.

"Well guess what," she snapped as her eyes flashed. "I'm upset now."

"Paige, please," Walter implored her.

"No Walter," she said as she turned away from him and placed her hands on the chest of drawers, leaning on it. She closed her eyes and when she spoke again her voice was still tight with anger. "Those people intruded on us in the middle of the night. Ralph could have been in here with us. I knew they would be obtrusive in our lives but I should have been warned _this_ might happen."

"It never crossed my mind that they would show up in the middle of the night." Walter lifted his arms helplessly before they fell back against his sides.

Paige was silent for a minute and finally sighed as much of her anger dissipated leaving her feeling incredibly fatigued.

"Paige, please," Walter said as he stepped closer, unable to keep his distance any longer. "What can I do to fix this?" He asked as he put his hands on her hips and leaned forward to press his nose against the nape of her neck, at a loss for what to say or do to make this better. He closed his eyes and let her scent envelop him.

"Walter, don't." Paige shifted out of his hold and walked over to the closet, leaving him standing there clenching his fists, breathing rapidly through his nose, as he fought the panic that was bubbling in his chest.

She grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top out of her suitcase and dropped her robe, slipping the light pajamas on. Walter turned slowly to look at her just as she grabbed a pair of cotton pajama pants out of Walter's suitcase and tossed them to him. He reached out reflexively and caught them in his hand but then he dropped them to the floor.

"I'm tired and just want to go to sleep," Paige said as she climbed onto the right side of the bed and slipped under the covers. She reached up for the light on the nightstand and plunged the room into darkness without another word.

Walter stood there in the dark, in silence, watching her, for almost an hour before he reached down to pick up the pajama pants at his feet. He slipped them up his legs beneath the robe but kept the thick terry cloth wrap around him because it, suddenly, felt very cold in the room.

Rather than climb into bed next to his wife, which was where he desperately wanted to be, Walter, instead, walked to the wooden chair beside the small circular table in the corner. He sat down and remained, unmoving, until Paige started to stir in the morning.

* * *

It's taken a bit to get the set up for the story in place but now we're here. It's been somewhat rainbows and kittens but like Cabe said... it won't always be so things are about to get interesting...

Now that I've got this beast of a chapter out I'm going back to finish _Married_. I don't do well trying to write more than one story at a time and since I have that mostly written I'm going to focus on and finish that before I jump back into this. I have an incredibly busy week so very likely no update for _Married_ until the weekend though.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Reviews make me happy... just sayin' :-)


	5. Author's Note

I normally do not do this - using a chapter to post a personal message but I feel I must. Someone has recently posted a story that has stolen and plagiarized this one. She emailed me only 4 days ago asking to do so and I did NOT give this person permission. For her so say that she asked me to use my story does not constitute my permission.

I have every intention of finishing this story. I know it has been a while since I have written but that has been inevitable. I hope to get back to writing in the early new year. However, even if I never intended to finish it I would never give anyone my permission to take my story and complete it or post it as their own.

I have written to her and demanded that she immediately delete the story.

If you a a reader and/or fan of my writing, please let me know if you ever see any of my stories here or elsewhere being posted and claimed by someone else. I am disgusted, disappointed and saddened by this. This is not the first time this has happened to me. Another person did the same thing with my Santa Baby story several years ago. She posted it on another site where they thought I would probably not find it. But I have many followers who enjoy my writing and they always let me know when they see this happen. It is people who do this kind of thing, who steal others' work, that ruin these writing fandoms - for all of us. For someone to say she loves a story so much and use that as an excuse to steal it is indefensible.

Thank you, as always, to all of you who read and enjoy my stories. I have not abandoned it or you. I will be back to finish all of my stories.

Ellie


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